


He Was Gone

by bettyluvsjuggie



Series: He Was Gone [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I hope, Kinda, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-11-17 10:45:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 60,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11273862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettyluvsjuggie/pseuds/bettyluvsjuggie
Summary: Three years ago, Jughead Jones vanished.He had been an ever-present force of happiness and friendship in Betty’s life. He meant a constant flow of greasy burgers and sickeningly sweet milkshakes, of dry humour and playful teasing, of too much imagination and too little time, of endless mischief and adventures, of mutual support and unconditional love…And then he was gone.Worse still, she had no idea why.





	1. I'm Sorry Betty

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place in two different times: present and past, so chapters will be labelled as Now/Then

**Then:**

An ecstatic 13 year old Betty practically skipped into the school cafeteria, clutching a bundle of paper to her chest. Her eyes flickered over each table and her smile dimmed slightly as she registered the jarring lack of ebony curls tucked beneath a grey beanie. Her eyes finally landed on Archie’s red locks and began trudging towards the table to join him. As she slipped into the chair beside him, he noticed her face twisted in a frown.

“Hey Betty, why the long face?” he chuckled, throwing her a lopsided boyish grin that would usually have her heart fluttering in sickening admiration.

“Have you seen Jughead today? I was excited to show him my test” she pouted, dropping the papers on the table. “He helped me study, I got a 95 per cent.”

“Wow Betty, lighten up! I’d kill for a 95” Archie scoffed as he turned his attention back to his food. “And I haven’t seen him, he wasn’t in class. I guess he’s sick or something” he offered before inhaling his burger in quick, large bites. Betty grimaced at his boyish lack of manners, while he wiped crumbs from his face with his sleeve.

“Yeah I guess” Betty sighed in reply, trying to subside the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Instead, she let her eyes drop to the large red numbers scrawled on the top of the papers and couldn’t hold back the grin that blossomed. Her mom was going to be so pleased with her.

She tried calling Jughead’s house that night to see if he was alright, hoping to express her gratitude for his help with her test.

But no one answered the phone.

\--

After 3 days of Jughead’s absence from school, and listening to the phone endlessly ring with no response, Betty had had enough.

“I’m telling you Arch, something’s wrong!” she exclaimed to her friend, waving her hands frantically as she spoke, only to earn an eye roll in response.

“You’re being paranoid, Betty. He’s just sick or something, let him have a couple of days off” Archie shrugged. He kicked a stone along the sidewalk absentmindedly as they walked the short route home after school, not taking much interest in Betty’s fixation and hoping that letting her ramble would get it out of her system.

“That’s the thing” she started, turning her head to look at him, “Jughead never takes time off school.” Averting her gaze, she kicked the stone that had fallen in her path, wincing as she saw the scuff on her pristine sneakers. “Plus, why is no one answering the phone?” she questioned him, “I rang four or five times last night.”

“You’re probably annoying them to death, Betty. You have a habit of doing that” the redhead teased in an attempt to lighten the mood, poking her side gently and making her giggle. She ignored the butterflies that erupted from his touch, determined to focus on her raven-haired best friend, at least for today.

“Arch, I’m serious. I’m worried” she pleaded, looking deep into his warm brown eyes, allowing him to see the concern that lingered in her expressive green orbs. Archie held her gaze for a moment before finally crumbling. He’d never been great at saying no to Betty.

With a sigh, he murmured “I guess we could swing by his house and check on him.”

\--

“Looks like no one’s home” Archie turned to his childhood best friend, “they must be out.”

“Knock again” she insisted nervously. Betty’s insides were twisted in knots as she became increasingly worried. Something was wrong, she was sure of it. Nothing about the situation felt right.

“Betty!” Archie raised his voice slightly, growing frustrated with her obsession. “Can we just go home? No one is here.”

Betty paused for a moment, mulling in her thoughts before she firmly shook her head. Betty Cooper was not a quitter.

“I’m going around back.” She stepped off the front porch and started slinking her way towards the backyard.

Archie’s eyes widened slightly. “What are you doing Betty?” his voice was laced with tension.

“Well I’m going to start by seeing if any of the windows are open, and we’ll see what happens next.” Betty knew what she was planning was wrong, but she couldn’t help the curiosity that was gnawing at her insides. Her want and need for investigation was rooted in the journalism in her genes, she had to find out what was going on. The story wasn’t over yet, not by a long shot.

Archie lingered on the porch, while his eyes followed the petite blonde in disbelief. “You’re being crazy, Betty. I’m going home.” He spat the words over his shoulder before he dashed away from the house, clearly annoyed.

Betty tried to ignore how his words stung, how the word crazy drove a sharp pain through her chest. She tried to ignore the fact that words like crazy and insane made her tears fill the corners of her eyes because she believed them about herself. Instead, Betty walked into the Jones’ backyard, stilling only for a moment to let her eyes drift over the rickety treehouse with fondness. She missed the afternoons the three of them had spent there, but it had grown significantly harder to comfortably fit the two growing teenage boys in the cramped space now so their once much-loved hang out was rather neglected.

Much to her surprise, the dining room window had been opened easily. She tried to nimbly stuff herself through the window frame but had failed and ended in a tumbled heap of limbs on the floor below it. Betty stood up slowly, dusting herself off and let her eyes drift over the dining room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the sparsely decorated room, so she ventured cautiously towards the hall.

“Jughead?” she called out. The house was deadly silent, way too silent and it sent a chill down Betty’s spine. “Mr Jones? Mrs Jones?” her voice called more desperately. The house was dark, as the sun had begun to lower in the sky outside, but in the dim light Betty had managed to make out that her surroundings were not quite right. Although the Jones family had never been particularly neat and tidy, items had been swept off the shelves, some were missing and others had fallen onto the floor, discarded. With a lump forming in her throat, Betty reached out for the staircase and started to ascend them cautiously. By the time she found herself placed in front of Jughead’s bedroom door, she was reluctant to open it, because she feared she already knew what she would find. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she shakily reached out to turn the doorknob and pushed the door open.

She took in the room and couldn’t prevent the sudden hot tears that rolled down her face. The wardrobe was open and empty, where clothes had been torn off their hangers. Draws had been pulled out of the dresser, some of the content still gathered in heaps where it had been tossed on the floor. All of Jughead’s well-thumbed paperbacks were gone, the pictures of Archie, Betty and him were missing and it made Betty feel empty. It didn’t look like they had left for just a weekend get away…

Her feet had carried her to the centre of the room where she fell to her knees, weakened by the crushing emotions. She let a pained cry tear through her body, pressing her hand to her mouth and rocking back and forth gently. She had been so unprepared for this, really she would have expected anything else than this.

He was gone.

He was gone and he didn’t say goodbye.

He was her best friend and he didn’t even say goodbye.

He was gone.

She gradually managed to calm her sobs, letting her glazed eyes drift around the room again. She had to choke back a whimper as she saw the mess and the chaos, but mostly a sheer emptiness. Everything that was so Jughead about this room was gone, leaving only subtle traces that he had been here.

A broken Betty was just about to haul herself up from the floor and out of the house, when a flash of black appeared in the corner of her eye. Her head snapped to its source and her eyes landed on the mirror that was fixed to the wall. She stood and went to examine it more closely, zeroing in on the scribble of black it was painted with.

Three simple words had been scrawled in thick black marker across the mirror’s surface in Jughead’s handwriting.

I’m sorry Betty

This time she couldn’t control the sobs that wracked through her, as she crumbled and wept.


	2. Long Time No See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty's day takes an unexpected turn, after Veronica bails out of their plans.

**Now:**

“Ugh Betty, I swear to God, that red-headed bastard infuriates me! I mean honestly, who the hell does he think he is?!” Veronica ranted through the phone, her voice laced with venom all directed at none other than Archie Andrews. “Hooking up with Valerie to make me jealous, unbelievable!”

“It sounds like worked V” Betty dared breath a laugh at the situation. She’d been puzzled by Veronica and Archie’s on-again/off-again relationship since it had begun. Their dynamic switched so fast, Betty swore it gave her whiplash. One week, the pair would be all loved up, barely able to keep their hands off each other for longer than a minute, and the next they’d be unable to be in the same room without starting an intense screaming match. When in their off-phases, neither Veronica or Archie were innocent when it came to displays to make each other jealous. Archie’s most recent defiance had been drunkenly making-out on a couch with Valerie at a party, while Veronica shot daggers at the both of them from the corner of the room. Despite Betty’s efforts to restrain her, the raven-haired princess had stormed over and thrown her drink over Archie, screaming profanity in his face, before storming out of the house. Days later, she was still seething.

“Whatever, I’m so done with him B.” She sighed, her words causing Betty to shake her head, with a whisper of a smile. She’d heard that countless times before, she knew it was an empty promise.

“As a former member of the Archie Andrews fan club, I’d advise that is a wise decision” Betty muttered, causing her friend to giggle on the other end of the phone. Betty had finally kicked her crush on Archie last year, shortly before Veronica had moved to Riverdale. It had been like a switch flicked in her head, a sudden realisation that Archie was not right for her on so many levels, that she’d be happier if she stopped pining over him. Once she had let go of the childhood love she’d be bound to for so long, Betty found herself observing subtle flaws that her devotion had glossed over, including his obvious immaturity, and now, it made her wonder why she’d clung to him for so long. Though Betty still had many feelings for Archie, now they were only of friendship and it was so much better that way.

“What’s the secret B? How do you fall out of the spell that is Archie Andrews?” Veronica mused, pulling Betty out of her thoughts. She pondered her best friend’s question in an attempt to help, but came up short.

“Fuck knows” she whispered with a low chuckle. She stopped walking, suddenly aware that she wasn’t sure where her feet had absentmindedly carried her. Betty flicked her gaze up, and her eyes locked on the familiar surroundings. “Hey, I’m not far from Pop’s. You want to grab a milkshake and cuss out Archie some more?” she offered, feeling somewhat bad for Archie, but not enough to retract her offer.

“Betty, that sounds heavenly! Give me 15 minutes and I’ll be there.” Betty grinned at her response.

“Alright V, I’ll see you soon.” She hung up the phone and slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans. A small reminiscent smile appeared as Betty’s thoughts wandered to how no more than 8 months ago, Veronica had been a stranger, and now the former New Yorker was her best friend. Looking back, it had been more Veronica’s decision to become friends but it didn’t take long for Betty to come around to her sparkling charm. It had been nice for Betty to finally have a female friend, not that she didn’t enjoy the company of Kevin and Archie, but Betty had never really got along with other girls, not the ones in Riverdale anyway. The likes of Josie and Cheryl didn’t really tend to associate themselves with emotionally unstable blondes such as Betty, but Veronica didn’t seem to care. One thing was certain, Betty’s life was never boring with Veronica by her side.

Realising she hadn’t moved in the few minutes since she hung up the phone, consumed by her thoughts as usual, Betty shook herself out of her trance. She reached up and tightened her ponytail, and set off in the direction of Pop Tate’s diner, a low growl in her stomach alerting herself to her hunger. She walked silently through the quiet neighbourhood, thinking about nothing in particular, the only sound accompanying the click of her boot heels on the sidewalk was birds singing high above her head. The walk was peaceful, until something caught Betty’s eye. She stopped abruptly in front of the house, staring up at it with wide eyes.

This wasn’t a new walk, Betty regularly had to pass through this part of town. Over the past three years, she’d noticed how the pain in her chest had gradually lessened when she saw that house, until it wasn’t there at all. Over time, she’d stopped feeling the need to let her eyes fall on the house at all. She didn’t know why today was any different, but she couldn’t tear her gaze away.

Jughead’s house.

Of all the happy memories she had there, her heart still remained haunted by a painful one. The last one. It was tragic how a place could be tainted so harshly but one unfortunate event. Of course, it wasn't really the house that stirred that familiar sick-feeling in her stomach, but the person who once lived there; or the lack of him. Betty kept her composure, swallowing hard, determined to remain unaffected.

( It doesn’t matter anymore. You’re all cried out over him. )

It was somewhat true. Betty hardly thought of Jughead anymore, the loss having dulled after three years. He was gone, and she had learnt to accept that.

But sometimes, she couldn’t help but wonder what happened to him, and why he never contacted them again. She figured that some people are only destined to childhood friends and nothing more.

(It’s just a house. Someone else lives there now.)

Letting out a shaky breath, she let her gaze drop from the house, and carried on her journey to Pop’s.

As she’d suspected, the walk didn’t take long, meaning she was five minutes or so earlier than Veronica would be. Her stomach churned out a low grumble again, and she let out a deep sigh, deciding she couldn’t wait for Veronica to order. Leaning against the counter, she called “hey Pop, can I get a vanilla milkshake?”

“Sure thing, Betty.” The friendly elder man offered her a warm smile, “it’ll just be a few minutes.” She hopped up to sit on one of the stools fixed in front of the counter. Seconds later, Betty’s cellphone chimed in her pocket. Pulling it out, she read the message on the screen with a chuckle.

 **Veronica:** Hey B! Turns out Archie ratted out my totally justified drink-throwing to Fred, who then ratted me out to my mom, who thought it was not so justified. [12.56]

She looked at the screen again when the phone chimed a second time. This time the message made her frown.

 **Veronica** : So long story short, I’m grounded. Guess I’ll have to owe you a milkshake for next time… Sorry B xo [12.57]

Betty shook her head slightly and started typing out a reply to her friend, teasingly scolding her for ditching. In the back of her mind, she vaguely registered the chime of the door signalling a new customer. As she pressed send on the message, Pop set down a large milkshake in front of her.

“One old-fashioned vanilla for you, Miss Betty. Extra whipped cream” he smiled and offered her a wink. She returned his smile graciously and grabbed the straw, taking a sip.

Someone tall leaned up against the counter beside the stool where she sat. “Still only go for vanilla, huh? I guess not much has changed” a deep smooth voice mused beside her. Betty frowned at the confusing statement, and looked to the mysterious figure. She can’t help it when her mouth dropped open in shock.

The young man beside her was tall and lean, not obviously broad but there was hints of muscle beneath the layers of flannel he wore. His skin was smooth and tanned, illuminated by the fluorescent lights of the dinner. Betty’s eyes travel over his face, including a sharp jawline and full pink lips. Most things about him were unfamiliar, but there were two things that Betty could never fail to recognise: the crystal clear blue of his eyes, and the grey beanie that rests on thick raven-coloured curls.

His gaze raised to meet hers. “Hey Betty, long-time no see” he breathed shakily, offering her a small smile, while he rubbed the back of his neck.

  
She was stunned silent from the shock, the most unexpected situation. Jughead Jones was in front of her, lazily leaning on the counter. No longer the boy she knew years ago, now a man. She couldn't calm the stream of emotions that flooded her brain as she continued to stare at him.

Before she can register her actions, Betty slowly rose from her stool and took a step towards him wordlessly, before delivering a sharp slap across his face.


	3. He's Gone Archie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation in the ~then~ timeline in chapter 1. Archie goes to find Betty when she doesn't return home.  
> Mentions of depression.

**Then:**

Archie’s concern had grown significantly as it had grown darker outside and Betty Cooper’s bedroom light had not yet been flicked on across the way. The young boy was suddenly feeling guilty for abandoning her back at the Jones’ residence, leaving her to fend for herself. He paced the bedroom nervously, unable to quell his worry for his best friend, and barely noticed as his mother appeared in the doorway.

“You okay, poppet?” Mary Andrews called out as she registered her son’s frantic movement, his hands wringing each other tightly.

Archie’s eyes flicked to hers, full of vulnerability as he choked out “I’m worried about Betty, I don’t think she’s home yet.” His gaze drifted to the window opposite his own.

“Don’t you two usually walk home together?” His mother’s brow furrowed in confusion, making Archie’s guilt blossom further.

“Yeah, but…” he couldn’t bring himself to admit the words. Slumping onto the edge of his bed, he buried his head in his hands.

( I left her behind. I snapped at her and then I left. )

He felt a warm hand stroking his back gently and glanced up at his mom. She smiled warmly at him. “It’s okay sweetheart, I’m sure she’s okay” she cooed, stroking the red locks that matched hers perfectly, “why don’t you go look for her? But be careful. It’s getting dark out.”

“I will, thanks Mom” Archie got up and kissed his mom on the cheek, before grabbing a jacket and running from the house.

 

\--

 

Copper’s house, nothing.

The park, nothing.

Pop’s, nothing.

Sweetwater River, nothing.

The sky was pitch black now, Archie wasn’t sure how much time had passed whilst he rode his bike through most of Riverdale in search of Betty. His breathing was erratic and heavy and there was a thick lump in his throat, but he kept going. He knew there was a chance she could already be home by now, but he couldn’t stop himself.

The bike skidded to a halt outside Jughead’s house. Really, he knew it should have been the first place he looked, but he had been scared to. He hopped of the bike and looked up at the house. There weren’t any lights on, so he suspected, as he had earlier that afternoon, that no one was home.

( Surely she can’t still be here. )

When no one answered the door to his persistent knocking, Archie cautiously moved around the house, frowning as he saw the dining room window had been left propped open. Once he had ducked through the window, his eyes raked over the dining room and the adjoining hallway, and his stomach dropped. The place had been left wrecked and the sight made a sick feeling bubble inside him.

"BETTY?” The ginger boy yelled, frantically running through the downstairs rooms. All of them had been left in carnage, items appeared to have been ripped from drawers and shelves. Though Archie was concerned about Jughead in the back of his mind, but he was consumed by the fear for Betty’s safety. He launched his body up the stairs, but was paralysed at the top of them by the sound of a muffled sob coming from Jughead’s room.

Cautiously approaching the room, Archie pushed the door open gently, breath hitching at the sight. Betty was lying crumpled on the floor of the bedroom that belonged to their dark-haired friend. Her hair had been pulled loose from her tight ponytail, and rested around her head, tangled and dishevelled. Her face was hidden slightly but the moonlight creeping in made her tear-stained cheeks glisten like silvery stripes. Archie didn’t remember crossing the room to where she lay, but he was suddenly pulling her up to his chest, hugging her tightly. She leaned into him, clutching his shirt in tight fists and sobbing harder. A wince escaped Archie’s lips, before he could stop it, when his eyes caught the blood staining Betty’s hands. He pulled her closer, stroking her hair, as he tried to hold back his own tears.

His attempts gave out when he heard her hoarse whisper echo through the room.

“He’s gone Archie.”

Neither of them knew how long they cried together.

 

\--

 

The following months were unbelievably hard. Betty and Archie were hit by the realisation that their friend wasn’t coming back, when the weeks passed and they had still heard nothing. Betty had become a shadow of herself, barely able to drag herself out of bed, convincing herself that she could not muster the energy to even pull back the covers. Her appetite fluctuated between barely eating and eating far too much, with a constant sickness feeling always lingering. Her concentration was as weak and frail as she had become physically, struggling to maintain any basic conversation and any attempts at schoolwork ended with sobs of frustration.

Deep down, the golden haired teenager knew this was about more than just Jughead. Though she was certain her heart-ached for her scruffy, raven haired friend, she was sure his absence was only the spark that lit the fire. Because other than missing Jughead, Betty struggled to feel anything. She felt numb and hollow. All it takes is a simple google search to determine the problem, and it doesn’t take much strain for her to notice the parallels between the symptoms of depression and the thoughts that run through Betty’s head daily. But she didn’t bring it up, because Betty didn’t say much of anything anymore.

After four months, Alice Cooper had grown frustrated at Betty’s withdrawal from the surrounding world. It was an early Saturday morning when she stormed into her youngest daughter’s room, forcefully pushing the curtains aside, letting the sunlight fill the room. While Betty stirred, squinting into the harsh change of brightness, Alice ripped the covers from where they had rested over her.

“Mom, what the hell is going on?” Betty rasped, confused, summoning the strength to push herself up on the bed.

“Elizabeth, I’ve had enough” she ground out, swiftly turning to face her daughter, perfectly manicured hands resting on her hips. “There is to be know more moping over that Jones boy, do you understand? It stops now.”

Alice was surprised by the cold, harsh laugh that sprung from Betty’s lips. She shook her lead, before tilting it back to rest on the headboard. “Mom, when was the last time you asked me what I was feeling?”

Unsure how to respond, Alice stood still, waiting for Betty to continue.

“I feel nothing. I don’t feel a fucking thing. I don’t feel anything.” Betty wasn’t sure whether her words were directed to her mother, or whether she just needed to finally say them aloud. “This isn’t about Jughead, not anymore” she whispered, letting her eyes slip shut.

“What is it about, Elizabeth?” the words came out harsher than she had intended, but the rush of concern had been unfiltered. Hearing the emptiness in her daughter’s voice, in her words, was terrifying.

Betty forced herself to lift her head and look at her mom. She had relaxed her stance to hug her torso, her eyes were glossed over while she gazed at her. It was a rare moment of vulnerability for Alice Cooper. Betty shifted so her legs hung off the side of the bed, gripping the mattress hard, so she didn’t dig them into her palms, not in front of her mom.

“I don’t know, Mom.” Betty choked out a sob she didn’t know she had been holding in, “I have no idea what’s wrong with me, why I feel this way. Or don’t feel anything.” She buried her head in her hands, “It’s so confusing.” The tears were flowing freely, sliding off her face and onto the carpet. Alice had moved to sit next to her, taking her daughter in her arms, letting her sobs be muffled by her chest, her arms cradled her head, fingers wrapping in her golden curls.

“It’s okay, Betty.” She whispered, kissing her hair. “We’ll get you some help, okay?”

Her cries grew softer, quieter, and finally Betty nodded and breathed a forced “okay” back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya loves- I know not many of you are reading this story, but I appreciate any comments I get! Hope you enjoyed :)


	4. I Thought I Was Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the Now timeline, the Jughead's former friends react to his arrival back in Riverdale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: mention of panic attacks (disclaimer- its based on my experience of panic attacks), and a very brief mention of depression.

**Now:**

The sharp slap sound echoed through Pop’s half empty diner.

“Betty-“ she didn't wait to hear whatever explanation he possibly has to offer. She could barely feel her feet drag her from where stood in front of him, away from the diner.

“Shit.” Jughead cussed under his breath, lifting his hand to where Betty’s had collided with his cheek, wincing slightly. “Fuck!” he spat, louder this time. While he wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he had been expecting, Jughead sure as hell hadn’t counted on getting slapped and he definitely didn’t know what to do next. He glanced out of the window, eyes landing on Betty staggering away.

Jughead couldn’t really blame her for running away from him, nor did he want to force himself on her right now. He had known coming back to the small town of Riverdale wasn’t exactly going to be smooth sailing, for anyone. Right now, Jughead was content to give Betty some space, he hoped he’d get more than one opportunity to build bridges with her. But for now, Jughead Jones slid into one of the vinyl booths he had been so long estranged from and ordered the other thing he had spent three years thinking about: one of Pop’s famous burgers.

 

\--

 

It was hard for Betty not to recognise the symptoms of a panic attack, she was all too familiar with that particular whirlwind of emotions. First it started with a stinging in her palms, as her short nails dig in painfully. The nervous tick had become a coping mechanism, sometimes it held off the panic attack by providing some relief as the blood spilt onto her skin. Unfortunately, this time it didn’t work. Betty could feel the tears pooling at the corners of her eyes, as her breath began to shorten. _Oh please, no_ , she thought as her breaths became quicker, gasping desperately for air. It didn’t matter how hard she wheezed, it felt like the air wouldn’t reach her lungs. All Betty wanted was to breathe. She suddenly became aware that she was still stumbling away from Pop’s clumsily, the hot tears clouding her vision. Turning a corner, she leant heavily against a wall and shakily fumbled in her pockets, finally grasping her phone. It took a few minutes for her trembling fingers to punch in the number, but she finally lifted the phone to her ear.

“Hey B, what’s going on? Sorry I couldn’t meet you, I really wanted to but-“ Betty choked out a hot sob of relief as she heard Veronica’s rambling filtering through her phone. “B? What’s wrong sweetie?” 

“Can you come get me?” Betty managed to choke out between gasps. “I know you’re grounded, but I wouldn’t ask unless it was an emergency. I just need to-“

“B, Betty, shh, listen it’s okay. I will be there in five minutes. Are you still at Pop’s?” Veronica cooed soothingly, concern growing as she heard Betty’s shaky breathing through the speaker.

“Yes” the reply came after a moment, and Veronica was already stumbling through her apartment, grabbing her keys and hurtling towards the door.

“Sit tight, I’ll be there soon.” Veronica assured before hanging up the phone. Betty stuffed her phone back into her pocket, and focused on steadying her breathing. It took a few moments, but eventually she felt like she could breathe easily again, grateful for the relief the dose of oxygen provided. Betty was wiping the blood off her palms when Veronica’s car swerved into the parking lot and she was almost alarmed at the speed of it. Betty couldn't help but run to the passenger side and fling herself into the car. Before she could even breathe a word, Veronica’s arms were wrapped tightly around her, enveloping her in a hug, one hand reaching up to stroke her hair soothingly. Betty couldn't help but return the embrace forcefully, burying her head into Veronica’s shoulder.

“I’m so glad you came V” a sob escaped Betty’s lips before she can stop it, accompanied with the feeling of fat tears rolling down her cheeks. She was embarrassed to be crying like this, but felt so far from being able to control it.

“Of course I did B,” she muttered, still holding her best friend tightly. After a few moments, Veronica pulled back and started the engine. “Whatever it is that has got you all in a state like this, I’m assuming it happened inside that diner, so how about we get far away from it? I’ll take you back to my apartment.”

Betty leaned back into the car seat, hastily pulling the sleeve of her sweater over her hands, and reaching up to wipe her eyes that are still glazed over. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip painfully in order to prevent more tears spilling. She lifted her gaze to the car ceiling, refusing to glance in the direction of the diner as Veronica pulled out of the parking lot, afraid of spotting a boy in a beanie. 

A few minutes into the drive, Veronica cleared her throat gently, causing Betty to glance in her direction. “We don’t have to talk about it B” she said weakly. Betty almost smiled at her offer. Almost.

\--

 

“Wait, so it was _the Jughead_?” Veronica gasped dramatically, setting down her drink on the coffee table in front of them.

“How many other people do you know called Jughead?” Betty breathed a laugh, leaning back into the Lodge’s couch. “Yeah, it was him,” she stated quietly, staring into the dancing flames of the fire that they’d lit.

“Wow” Veronica gasped stunned, “no offence B, but no wonder you were in such a state.” She picked her mug up and raised it to her lips, but paused before she could take a sip when her gaze locked on the tears brimming in Betty’s wide green eyes. “B? You okay?”

Betty let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes as a single silver tear betrays her efforts to hold her composure. “I thought I was stronger than this. I thought I was better…” she whimpered, leaning forward and burying her head in her hands. Ashamed didn’t even summarise the way she felt. Instantly, she felt Veronica’s dainty hand rubbing her back comfortingly.

“It’s okay, Betty,” she murmured, feeling useless as her friend cried. “Hey, hey, listen” she called tenderly, prompting Betty to look up at her raven-haired friend. “You told me once that Jughead leaving town was a major trigger for everything that you went through. Him coming back is bound to bring up a lot of emotions, right?” she offered timidly, afraid that Betty would crumble again.

“Yeah I guess,” Betty sniffed, sitting back up. “I just don’t want to feel that way again, V. Those months, hell who am I kidding? Those _years_ of depression were…” she trailed off, breath catching in her throat, “they were tough.” A trembling sigh left Betty’s lips while she mulled over her thoughts.

“Maybe he won’t stay long,” Veronica mused after a moment of tense silence.

“Maybe,” Betty hummed back, trying her best to ignore the sinking doubt that settled in her stomach.

\--

 

The familiar red door swung open, and Jughead couldn't help but break into a grin as his eyes landed on a familiar mop of ginger hair. The rest of the boy he used to know was definitely an unfamiliar sight, he notes as his eyes drop over the broad shoulders and defined muscles of the person in front of him. Eventually, his eyes met a pair of warm brown orbs, that sparkle with confusion. 

“Jug?” the boy’s gruff voice questioned the stranger in front of him.

“Hey Archie” Jughead replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, bracing himself for a reaction not dissimilar to the one Betty had greeted him with. For this reason, he was somewhat startled when the red-head ran towards him, enveloping the Jones boy in a tight hug. Jughead went rigid in his embrace. 

“Archie, what are you doing?” his grunted uncomfortably. “Archie, dude, we don’t hug.” 

Archie pulled back slightly to meet his old friend’s gaze. “Dude, I haven’t seen you in three years, let me have this!” he yelled teasingly.

“Fine, fine! You got me there” Jughead rolled his eyes, and pulled Archie in for another hug, patting his back lightly. While Archie can’t see his face, Jughead couldn't help but smile at the affectionate greeting from his childhood friend. “Okay that’s long enough now,” he laughed lightly, stepping back and pulling the grey beanie more firmly onto his head.

“Jug, what the hell are you doing here?” Archie questioned, with a more serious look crossing his face than a few moments previous. Jughead furrowed his brow and looked down, pondering how best to answer. 

“It’s a pretty long story man” he breathed shakily. He couldn't help the humourless laugh that tumbled from his lips, “It’s a really, really long story. One that I will definitely tell you, soon. But first I got a favour to ask,” he looked back up.

“Sure man, what is it?” Archie said, nodding, leaning on the doorframe and crossing his arms. 

“You guys still got a spare room?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are always appreciated :)


	5. What Will I Tell My Friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback to the day that Jughead left Riverdale, the way events unfolded from Jughead's perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings for this chapter, other than a lil angst!

**Then:**

It had been a relatively normal day for a young Jughead Jones, until it wasn’t.

During lunchtime, Betty had asked the Jones boy to hang out at the Cooper residence for the evening, an invitation which he’d accepted without reluctance. As usual, Jughead had tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach when his blonde best friend smiled at him with green eyes that shone like glittering emeralds. He tried to ignore how he always stared at her a little too long, how his smile was always a little wider when she was around, but the thought lingered in the back of his mind.

“Yay! This is going to be fun Juggie!” she’d giggled excitedly when he agreed. “Oh and would you mind if you helped me study just for a little while? I have a history test tomorrow, and you’re just so good at history” she pleaded with him.

Jughead frowned at her request. “Betty you get better grades than me in history,” he shrugged nonchalantly, before turning back to the worn-out paperback in his hands, trying to concentrate on the small black print.

“You don’t fool me Juggie” she smirked in his direction, pushing her fork around her food.

“I don’t know what you mean Betty” he muttered without meeting her eyes, keeping his eyes glued to the pages of his book.

“You don’t get good grades in history because it bores you, all your classes do,” she stared at him, placing her fork down. “The reason for that is you’re so much smarter than what they teach you, so you don’t try very hard” Betty explained coolly, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning forward to rest them on the table. When Jughead finally glanced at the blonde, she quirked one eyebrow at him challengingly.

“You’ve given this a lot of thought, huh?” he smirked back at her, neither confirming or discrediting Betty’s theory.

“Juggie, I’ve known you since I was 4 years old, that’s 9 years of friendship and I still don’t understand you. If I can’t work out the enigma that is Jughead Jones, who will?” she jokes in an exasperated tone, trying to hold off a smile.

“Let me know how that goes” he chuckles.

 

\--

 

Jughead smiles into the blackness on his short walk home from Betty’s house, sporting a large toothy grin that has yet to fall from his face.

_“I knew you were smart” she chuckles as she pulls the door shut behind them and steps out onto the porch, pulling her arms around her._

_Jughead just chuckles in response to her. There’s a churning nervousness in his stomach that he only ever feels around Betty. That swirling feeling dusts a light pink blush on his cheeks that he hopes Betty can’t make out in the low light of the evening._

_“Good luck with your test” Jughead murmurs after a few moments of silence, shuffling between his feet nervously and refusing to meet Betty’s gaze._

_“Thank you for helping me study, Jughead” she whispers tenderly before she steps forward and wraps her arms around his torso. For a moment, he stiffens in shock, but soon after he relaxes and curls his arms around her._

_In the last couple of months, Jughead had grown significantly. He’d shot up past Archie, who was decidedly bitter about this fact, and towered about a head higher than both he and Betty. Jughead concluded he was currently very grateful for this growth spurt as it meant Betty could very comfortably rest her head on his shoulder, meaning the smell of lavender shampoo wafted into his nostrils deliciously. He hoped Betty couldn’t hear how erratically his heart was beating against his ribcage at having her this close to him._

_Jughead resisted the urge the grin widely when Betty stepped away and he could see the smile flourishing on her own face. She paced backwards towards the front door, holding his gaze. When her back hit the door, she whispered “See you tomorrow, Juggie.”_

_“Yeah, see you tomorrow Betty” he whispered as she slipped inside the house, and finally let the smile blossom on his face_.

_Today had been an extraordinary day._

Jughead remained consumed in his thoughts of Betty for the duration of his walk. Engrossed in thoughts of lavender shampoo and blonde hair like spun gold, Jughead’s hundred-watt smile only faltered once he reached his front porch. His heart sunk at the familiar sound of yelling resonating from behind the door. With a sigh, he pushed himself into the house, but frowned instantly at the scene his eyes land on. In the hallway, his mother is sweeping the shelves, shoving things into plastic bags. She grabs books, photos, ornaments hastily, frantic with eyes wide.

“I can’t believe you would do this to us FP” Gladys cried, shouting to her husband, not noticing her teenage son standing in the doorway.

“Dammit Gladys!” FP appears at the top of the stairs, calling down, “It’s not like I god damn wanted this to happen!” He ground his words out with teeth clenched, eyes dark and hair unruly, like he’d been running his hands through it.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Jughead is almost ashamed by the meek tone of his voice, but is too confused by the current situation. His parents’ eyes have finally snapped to him and silence falls on them.

Gladys spat bitterly “you deal with him, you’re the one who got us here” towards FP before she disappeared into the kitchen and slammed the door.

“Come upstairs, son” FP called more softly than he had spoken before. He obeyed and rushed up the stairs, and following his dad to where they now stood in Jughead’s room. FP handed him an empty cardboard box. “I can’t explain right now Jug, but we need to go. You, me, your mom and Jellybean, we’ve got to leave town and we’ve got to go tonight.”

“Dad I don’t understand” the catch in his throat was involuntarily as he called out to his dad desperately.

“You don’t got to understand, you just got to pack your stuff” FP grunted, growing impatient. He stormed over to the wardrobe and started tearing clothes off the hangers, shoving the items carelessly into a bag. In his haste, clothes fell to the floor but remained there discarded in FP’s urgency. Jughead just stood and watched the wreckage, stunned.

“What will I tell my friends?” Jughead whispered, quietly. A single tear slipped down his face as the seriousness of the situation really started to settle on him.

FP whipped round at his son’s question and quickly marched over to where he stood. He grabbed Jughead’s shoulders, looking deep into his eyes. “Jug, it’s really important that you don’t talk to your friends. You can’t tell them anything,” his tone is stern, his words harsh. He appears unaffected by the sobs and whimpers that Jughead can no longer hold back. “Do you understand me, Jughead?”

“What? So I’m just never allowed to talk to them again?” he cries, his head ducking forward, too ashamed to meet his father’s eyes.

“No Jughead, you can’t talk to them. At least for now.” He stalks towards the doorway before he turned and called, “pack your stuff, or we’re leaving without it.”

Jughead doesn’t know how he got here so quickly. His day, heck his _life,_ was changing so suddenly it made his head spin. He packs his books, his notebooks of scribbled ideas, some clothes, not that he cares what he wears as long as the beanie he wears remains permanently secured on his head. He does a fairly efficient job, holding off the emotions best he can, until he reaches the photo frames on his desk. His eyes land on Betty’s and Archie’s faces and his resolve crumbles. He emits soft whimpers while he picks up one and stares at it. From what he can remember, the photograph is three or four years old. Betty had decided she, Archie and Jughead were going to dress as the three musketeers for Halloween. The idea was more spectacular than the execution because the photo depicts three kids in huge, borrowed hats with feathers sticking out precariously and paper swords, crafted by Betty. The three of them were hugging Archie’s dog Vegas, who Archie had demanded be the fourth musketeer. Jughead smiles despite himself, because now looking at the photo, he knows they look a mess, but the happiness of the petite blonde girl, red-haired boy and a raven-haired scruff-ball radiates from the picture. He carefully places it in the box before piling the rest of the photos with it.

 

\--

 

“Jug! Come on it’s time to go!” FP shouts up the staircase. Jughead paces the room nervously. He knows he can’t leave yet, he’s missing something.

“Jughead!” FP growls again louder this time, anxious to get going.

“Coming! One second!” he yells back shakily. He needs to do something, because he knows Betty and he knows she’ll come looking for him.

He picks up a black marker that’s been tossed onto the floor in the carnage and walks to the mirror, sure it’ll be somewhere she’ll see it. Just as Jughead is lifting his hand to write, he realises he has no idea what he should say. What he really wants to say can’t be written in a few short words… He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply, mulling over his chaotic thoughts. His hand writes the thing he wants her most to know, the thing he wishes he could say to her right now, that he’s sorry.

And then he leaves. He exits the house he’s where he’s lived his whole life, that used to filled with so many happy memories but is now overshadowed by chaos. He leaves the hose without looking back, not sure when or if he’ll ever be here again. He watches from the backseat of the car as Riverdale becomes a distant memory, a place he once knew. Jughead can feel his old life slipping from his fingers as the car moves away from Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper, heart aching with a loss he hasn’t really felt yet.

Today had been an awful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me a comment my loves <3


	6. I'm Spellman, Sabrina Spellman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introduction of a new friend for Jughead as he moves away from Riverdale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO CHAPTER UPLOADS IN ONE DAY?! Don't get used to it, I was struck with random need to write this afternoon, and I'm pretty happy with the result! And it's a longer chapter than usual too... damn I did good today guys. 
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing Sabrina, it's probably completely the opposite to what's canon but this is what I wanted for a friend for Jughead right? 
> 
> Also, I gave all the chapters names? Thoughts?

**Then:**

No one at Jughead’s new school had hair as red as Archie’s (or the Blossoms’, he assumed there must be something in the water in Riverdale). No one had eyes that sparkled like the emerald green of Betty’s. None of the girls’ hair was quite the right shade of blonde. Everything felt new and unfamiliar and Jughead hated it.

FP had told his son that he couldn’t call himself Jughead anymore, not in Toledo. He’d said ominously “it’ll be safer this way,” without much further explanation. FP himself had resurrected Forsythe, Jellybean had been nicknamed Tia from ‘Forsythia’ and Jughead, who couldn’t think of anything more horrible than being addressed as Forsythe every day, chose ‘JP’. Though in the privacy of their own home, Jughead begged his family to keep referring to him by his familiar name. He hoped that that way, it wouldn’t feel completely like he had fallen into somebody else’s life.

Three weeks into starting his new school, Jughead hadn’t spoken to any of other students and was perfectly content to keep it that way. He elected instead to sit in the corner of the crowded cafeteria each lunchtime and read his books over and over or scribble in his notebooks. Though one day, he wasn’t so lucky in his solitude.

A petite girl dropped heavily into the seat opposite him, Jughead recognised her from a few classes they shared. She’d somewhat reminded him of a fairy, with long platinum blonde hair, porcelain skin, delicate features and electric blue eyes that rivalled his own. However, the fairy tale illusion was shattered by the clunky Dr Martens she wore on her feet, the splattering of eyeliner darkening her eyes, and he was unsure how a thirteen year old was allowed so many ear-piercings. He stared at her curiously, silently asking why she had sat with him.

“I’m bored of watching you sit by yourself, so we’re going to be friends” she declared, shrugging. She dropped her bag on the floor heavily, before leaning forward on the table, resting her chin on her hands. “What’s your name kid?” she asked with a large grin.

Jughead frowned at her for a minute, waiting for her to move or leave or something. When her smile didn’t falter and she continued to look at him expectantly, he sighed, relenting. “JP Jones.”

“What does JP stand for?” she retorted immediately, still staring him down, whilst his gaze returned to his book.

“None of your business” he muttered moodily.

“That’s fair, kid” she shrugged. “I’m Spellman, Sabrina Spellman” she pouted jokingly, then giggled.

“Stop calling me kid, we’re the same age. Plus, you’re like half my size” Jughead grumbled, looking her up and down again, she was seriously tiny.

“That’s rude kid” she pointed a dainty a finger at him, raising her eyebrows causing him to roll his eyes. “I like you JP, I think I’m gonna hold onto you” she smirked slyly. “I like the beanie by the way” she said, Jughead automatically reached up and adjusted the item anxiously.

She reached into her bag, pulling out an apple and taking a large bite. “So JP, what’s your damage? You look like you’ve had a hard life. You washed up at only thirteen years old?”

“I’m fourteen next week actually” he only grunted in response, choosing to ignore the rest of her words.

“Not a sharer, huh? Alright, noted” Sabrina mused, taking another large chomp of her apple. “How about a little I’ll show you mine, you show me yours?” she asked rhetorically, smirking and raising one eyebrow challengingly.

“You’re intrigued, I can tell” she babbled. “So my parents are some major hippie fan-freaks, god only knows how I ended up with the surname _Spellman_ and my mom’s name is _Zelda_ for Christ’s sake! I can only be thankful that I didn’t end up with a first name like _moondust_ or some crap like that-“ she paused, glancing at him cautiously, “sorry for cussing.” She huffed loudly, trying to blow some of the hair flopping onto her forehead, “anyways, crazy parents who believe in magic and the powers of the universe yada yada ya, where was I? Oh yeah, so these children of the earth essentially don’t believe in the powers of modern medicine, so all my ailments in my childhood were treated spiritually and let me tell you, you can’t damn cure tonsillitis with herbal tea, I learned the hard way!” Jughead blinks slowly, watching her talk animatedly. He’s not sure he’s ever seen someone talk with so much energy, babbling like a brook at a mile a minute. She waves her hands while she talks, sometimes pushing her hair out of her face, other times just wafting them through the air. Jughead just silently watches her talk, becoming somewhat interested in this spirited character.

“… so that’s how I somehow managed to be roped into a séance for my Aunt Hilda’s dead cat. Believe me, that was not a fun evening, gosh she cried and cried… my auntie not the cat. I’m not sure the cat said anything, I mean come on it’s a cat, what kind of a cat can talk, let alone in a séance, right?” Sabrina sighed dramatically, slumping down in her seat. She abruptly sat up when she saw the faintest of smiles train on Jughead’s lips, “you _do_ like me!” she laughed triumphantly, pointing at his face excitedly.

“Sounds like you have quite the family life” he shrugs, “the amount you talk is exhausting.”

Sabrina is still grinning widely despite his admission, “You’ll get used to it.”

 

\--

 

“Hey J!” Sabrina sings loudly as she skips into the Jughead’s bedroom, he swivels in his desk chair to look at her, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Don’t you dare say it…” he warns her.

“Happy birthday kid!” she yells excitedly, pulling a party popper out of her pocket. “Whoo!” she yells as she pulls the string, laughing as the confetti falls on Jughead, who looks unimpressed at the celebration.

“Thanks Spellman” he sighs, swivelling back towards his desk, returning his gaze to the word document on his laptop.

“You’re welcome Forsythe” she cackles, causing Jughead to whip his head around again to shoot her death glare. She laughs and only winks at him in return.

“Why do I tell you things?” he groaned loudly, covering his face with his hands. Not only had he entrusted Sabrina with knowing his birthday, he had mistakenly slipped and told her his birth name a while ago, she also knew of his previous and trusty nickname, Jughead. She tended to only call him J, a left over reflex of when she got bored of saying JP, occasionally torturing him with Forsythe.

“You tell me everything!” she proclaimed, flopping onto his bed heavily, making a lot of noise despite her petite frame. “I know your birthday, obviously, and your real name, your other real name. I know that you left a town called Riverdale ‘the town with pep!’ before you came here, yes I googled it” Sabrina began on one of her usual rambles, prompting Jughead to turn in his chair again, watching her as he listed off the intimate details of his life she knew. “I know that you had to disappear cause your ass-hat of a dad screwed over his biker crime gang. What did you say it was called? Was it the snakes? No wait! It was the Serpents! Gah, I was so close!”  She clenched her fists, holding them up in mock frustration, making Jughead chuckle lowly.

“I know that your boy best friend was called Archie Andrews, he has red hair and is a football player at Riverdale High, yes I googled him too. Your girl best friend was called Betty Cooper, you did and arguably still do have a crush on her, yes I know you googled her” Sabrina smirked at him accusingly.

Jughead’s face erupted in a deep blush at the mention of Betty, he had no idea how Sabrina knew he’d looked her up online. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he didn’t meet her gaze, coughing slightly.

“You’re not very good at passwords J, and I looked at your search history a while ago” she admitted flippantly, causing Jughead’s mouth to drop open in shock.

“You looked at my search history?!” he yelled in her direction.

“I wanted to know whether you watch porn” she shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world, “which either you don’t or you’re very good at hiding it. Either way, well done J!” Jughead shook his head at his friend’s ridiculous congratulations, still amazed by her eccentric personality.

“Anyways…” she trailed off, “How’s seventeen treating you kid?” she asked him with a smile that looked as sweet as sugar, though Jughead knew better of Sabrina.

“It’s exactly the same as sixteen, nothing exciting. I was just trying to do some writing actually…” he attempted to hint to Sabrina that he wanted to be alone, no such luck.

“You know what’s weird?” she hummed, Jughead rolled his eyes as his efforts had clearly washed over her. Once again, he turned back to his desk, saving the changes to his work.

“You” he muttered over his shoulder. “Ow!” he yelled as a pillow hit the back of his head with a startling amount of force.

“Have some manners kid!” Sabrina yelled sternly. “What I was _going to say_ was that it’s weird, I’ve known you like three years now. Isn’t that really bizarre? I think back to the time I saw the lonely new kid sitting in the cafeteria, head in a book, well I guess not much has changed in that respect. Haha, do you remember the first time we talked? I do, you didn’t like me.”

“I still don’t” Jughead teased her, not looking over his shoulder to look at her.

“Fuck off, you love me!” she exclaimed noisily, and Jughead laughed loudly at her cussing. Sabrina had been swearing like a sailor since they were thirteen years old, possibly longer than that. “I wore you down” she assured him nodding. Jughead didn’t respond to this, unworried that the conversation would die out. That was the great thing about Jughead’s friendship with Sabrina, she talked enough for the both of them.

“What you gonna wish for on this here birthday J?” Sabrina asked after a few moments, shifting her position on the bed so her legs rested vertically along the wall, Jughead was surprised the heavy boots on her feet weren’t weighing her down. Her head dangled off the side of the bed, letting the ends of long blonde locks brush against the carpet.

“Isn’t the idea that I’m not supposed to tell anyone?” he mused back to her.

“I already said, you tell me everything, so I don’t count” she murmured, and Jughead noted how her face was slowly turning red from being tipped upside down, shaking his head with a smile. “So what’s your wish?”

“Honestly?” he asked nervously.

“Sure” she huffed out, her face was really turning red now, but she continued to knock her feet together playfully, still dangled in the air above her.

Jughead sighed deeply, still unsure whether he really wanted to share.

( Fuck it. )

“I’d love to go back to Riverdale” he admitted calmly.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Sabrina flipped back over, jumping up onto the bed, with an alarming speed. Her sudden movement coupled with the impossible volume of her yelling made his heart beat quicken a few paces with surprise.

“Jesus ‘Brina, you scared me!” he yelled back at her.

“Yeah you fucking scared me too! You can’t leave me!” she whimpered dramatically, still standing at full height on the bed, though Sabrina wasn’t very tall. Before Jughead could open his mouth to respond, Sabrina was already talking. “You’re like my only friend J, and you’re a pretty great one because for all the crap you give me about being weird, I know you don’t actually judge me ever and I don’t judge you either and we can be fuck ups together, right? And I know we look like an odd pair and everything, because you’re a giant long-legged thing with this thick mop of black hair and I’m literally an elf and I look like the sun shines out of my fucking head, but that’s kind of what I love about us you know? And who would I eat pizza with? Because you know I can’t finish a whole one. Think of how much pizza I would throw away if you weren’t there when I’m full after two slices. I just can’t waste pizza like that! You just can’t leave okay?!” she finished her little rant by collapsing onto the bed, sitting with her legs crossed, her head hung staring into her lap.

A small smile reached Jughead’s lips. He pushed himself out of his desk chair and went to sit next to Sabrina on his bed. She still hadn’t looked up, she was just pulling at the baggy sleeves of her sweater nervously. He placed a hand on her back, gently stroking between her shoulder blades. “Spellman, I’m not going back to Riverdale. They don’t want me there.”

“You don’t know that, ‘cause you never fucking spoke to them after you left” she sulked and Jughead swore he could hear her sniffling faintly, but chose not to acknowledge it.

“Exactly, they aren’t likely to welcome me with open arms after three years of radio silence. Imagine I left without telling you, and didn’t speak to you for _three fucking years_ , would you want to talk to me?” he sighed heavily.

“You don’t know unless you actually talk to them dumb-fuck.”

“Sabrina it sounds like you’re trying to convince me to go to Riverdale, I thought you didn’t want me to go” Jughead had a small sad smile on his lips.

“It is your birthday wish and I kind of love you so I want you to be happy and all that sappy shit” Sabrina finally lifted her head, quickly wiping beneath her eyes.

“Back at you, Spellman.” Jughead sat beside her for a few moments silently, still rubbing her back soothingly. “Am I really your only friend? What about Toni?”

“She doesn’t count, she’s my girlfriend” she sniffled with a pout.

“Yeah she does, stop sulking.”

“I hate you.”

“Thought you loved me?”

“I changed my mind, fuck off back to Riverdale” she jokingly pushed his shoulder with a small, tight lipped smile.

He grinned back at her, “yeah, maybe I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop me a comment, it will make my day, I promise <3


	7. So, Why Are You Here Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty agrees to hear Jughead out, and finally learns why he disappeared from Riverdale 3 years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings for this chapter as far as I know!

**Now:**

Betty returned home from the Pembrooke in the early hours of the evening, quietly slipping through the sleeping house and into her room. She flicked on the light of her bedroom, sighing deeply as she closed the door, leaning against it heavily for a few moment, exhausted by the emotional trauma of the day.

She pushed herself away from the door, walking towards her bed but something stopped in her tracks by the window. Glancing across the alleyway to Archie’s bedroom, she couldn’t help the way her eyes glassed over with tears on the scene taking place there.

Archie was holding his guitar, strumming it dramatically, nodding his head vigorously. He was playing around, dancing and laughing goofily, with his head tossed back and his eyes scrunched closed. The sight that was unfamiliar was the tall boy in a beanie that laughed with Archie, pushing his shoulder playfully. Archie put the guitar down and they moved out away from the window, disappearing from Betty’s sight. She knew that the silvery tears slipping down her face weren’t because she was upset to see Jughead, for the same reason she knew why she was smiling. Betty was happy to see Archie and Jughead connecting again as old friends. There had always been a strong bond between them, however unlikely it seemed from the outside.

Betty finally managed to move from where she had been frozen in place, falling onto her bed, exhausted. She envied Archie, how he could welcome Jughead back with open arms and fall back into friendship so easily. She wanted that for herself, she didn’t want to feel this pain anymore. It felt like there was a block on her heart preventing her from letting Jughead back in.

\--

Betty sat bolt upright in bed, frustrated. For hours now she had been tossing and turning amongst the pastel bedsheets but was far from getting any sleep. Every time she had closed her eyes, they demanded to flutter open again restlessly. Her head ached with the exhaustion.

Sleep didn’t come easy. Betty tossed and turned in her bedsheets, but she couldn’t seem to find rest. Every time she closed her eyes, they demanded to flutter open again. Her brain was alight with thoughts, refusing to slow her even a moment. Frustrated, Betty sat upright in bed, wiping the thin layer of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, flicking on her bedside light. Her phone buzzed on her bedside table after a few minutes.

 **Archie:** You doing okay? I saw your light turn on [00:54]

 **Archie:** I know he saw you [00:54]

Betty sighed, leaning back on the headboard, placing one hand on her head, trying to soothe the buzzing of thoughts inside her head.

 **Betty:** He’s staying with you? [00:55]

 **Archie:** Yeah, he’s in the guest bedroom. [00:56}

 **Betty:** How long is he staying? [00:57]

 **Archie:** I don’t know. [00:58]

 **Archie:** He wants to talk to you. [01:01]

Betty was conflicted. On the one hand, all she wanted to hear was why he had left and why he never called, why he could never be bothered to reach out before now. At the same time, Betty was sure hearing why would hurt.

 **Archie:** Just hear what has to say. [01:03]

She slipped underneath the covers, pressing send on the text as her eyes drooped, falling into a light but peaceful sleep.

 

 **Betty:** Tell him to meet me at pop’s tomorrow at 4pm. [01:07]

 

\--

Jughead couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so nervous. He’d asked Archie to show him the texts at least three times to be sure. He hadn’t believed the red-head when he’d blurted out over breakfast that Betty had agreed to see him. He was so shocked that he’d damn near choked on the juice he was drinking, coughing and spluttering for several minutes. He’d arrived at Pop’s half an hour early, he’d been so afraid of being late. His laptop, that he’d be brought in order to kill time by writing, remained untouched the blank document glaring at him tauntingly. He couldn’t think straight, all his thoughts were consumed by Betty.

Jughead closed his laptop, turning to stare out of the window, just as Betty rounded the corner towards Pop’s. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she’d become, despite months of looking at the pictures on her online profiles. Betty Cooper had always been a pretty girl, there was certainly no doubt about that, but somehow when he’d been gone she’d grown into a truly stunning woman. As Archie had informed Jughead, this was a fact that everyone in Riverdale had noticed, with the exception of Betty herself.

Jughead allowed his eyes to drift over the perfectly spun golden curls of her ponytail, the creamy smoothness of her pale skin, the soft curves that hid beneath her pastel blue sweater and the long, slender legs covered by her skinny jeans. His eyes continued to follow her movements right until the moment she stepped through the doorway of the diner, briefly scanning the tables until her eyes met his.

Jughead was sure that all the air left his lungs as she approached him, never averting her eyes. He could’ve sworn those ten paces she took from the door to the vinyl booth took hours, but maybe it was just the intensity of her fierce green eyes locked on his consuming his entire existence. When she finally slid into the both, sitting opposite him, they remained wordless for a few minutes. Jughead swore that she bore her soul through her eyes, divulging her every emotion. Staring back at him were two emerald pools of vulnerability and fear.

“Archie said you wanted to explain” she finally spoke, voice trembling anxiously. He nodded in reply, mouth too dry to respond vocally. “Okay, so explain” she breathed.

Jughead cleared his throat, licking his lips slightly, begging for some moisture to return so he could speak. “Uh, I… I owe you a long overdue explanation, uh obviously…” he spluttered, cursing himself mentally, he’d had half an hour to prepare for this. “Shit” he fumbled, glancing at Betty who just continued to stare at him blankly. He took a deep breath in, willing himself to gain some composure.

“Okay… So, do you remember the night I left? When I helped you study for your history test?” she nodded slowly. “When I got home that night, my house was basically being torn apart by my parents, tipping everything we’d ever owned into a box or a bag and then shoving them in the car. I was confused and god, I was terrified. I wanted, more than anything, to call you or Archie but my dad wouldn’t let me, he said I couldn’t talk to either of you. He wouldn’t tell me why I couldn’t or why we had to leave… He just wouldn’t tell me fucking anything and it stayed like that. For a long time, I knew about as much as you did about why we had to leave, the only explanation I ever got was ‘it was too dangerous’ and I didn’t…”

“Can I get you two anything?” a waiter interrupted him, with a bright smile on his face, unaware of the tense atmosphere hanging over the booth.

“Hi, can I get a tea, please? Thanks” Betty looked up at him with a tight-lipped smile, a slight tremor in her voice.

“Black coffee, please” Jughead murmured. He waited for a few minutes for their drinks to arrive before he continued, taking a long sip of his coffee. “All I ever wanted to do was call you, to explain. But between my dad forbidding any communication with our old life, and me not knowing even what the explanation was, I couldn’t. About a year and a half ago, I snapped and my dad and I got in a pretty serious fight, he told me everything. He was a member of the Southside Serpents, Betty. Apparently, he was asked to make a deal with a rival gang as some sort of act of truce. The deal went sideways and failed, pretty badly apparently, though I don’t know the details specifically. As a result, there were not only members of the rival gang after him, but other members of the Serpents too. If he didn’t leave, he could’ve been killed and there’s a possibility the rest of my family would have been hurt too. So, we had to disappear. Betty, there’s a reason why I’ve had to go by a different name for three years, there’s a reason why I couldn’t contact anyone in Riverdale… It’s because if anyone found out where we were, it could have put our lives in danger…” his voice was hoarse and thick. He’d only every retold this story once, to Sabrina, which had ended in hot tears rolling down his face but Jughead was determined not to break this time, not in front of Betty.

Betty had stayed silent the entire time, staring into her untouched tea, holding the cup between her hands. A single tear had spilled from the corner of her eye, trailing slowly down her face.

“So why are you here now?” she whispered weakly, not meeting his eyes.

( For you. )

“I don’t know, I guess a part of me always knew I had to come back to Riverdale one day” he said, with a small smile tracing his lips as his gaze met a pair of bright green orbs that felt like home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, you find out why Jughead left! Hope it didn't disappoint... Comments are always appreciated! <3


	8. Dear Jughead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty seeks out closure with a little help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short chapter today, but I didn't want to delve too far into it, I'd be there forever. A little more background to Betty's depression.   
> So warnings: description of depression

**Then:**

“Betty, it sounds to me like you’re suffering from something called major depressive disorder. I know that sounds pretty scary, that’s why lots of people just call it depression” the older woman smiled in Betty’s direction. She was very polished and clean-looking, exactly the kind of person Alice Cooper would expect her daughter to see. So far, she had been quite nice, letting Betty explain what was happening without interruption, which was nice for a change. Betty hadn’t anticipated that it would be easy to vocalise the thoughts in her head, but once she had started, the thoughts had rolled out of her with little prompting.

“Do know what it means to be depressed, Betty?” the woman, Jennifer, asked her calmly.

“Yeah, it’s when you’re sad all the time” she replied with a frown, “but that’s not really how I feel.”

“You’re right, a lot of time it does mean being sad, but that’s not the only thing depression does. Sometimes it makes people feel angry with themselves, or with others. Other times, it can make you feel very numb and hollow. Does that sound a bit more like what you feel?” Betty nodded at her words, processing the information slowly.

“Good” Jennifer smiled at her triumphantly. “Now, I won’t get too technical with you but as psychologists, we’re not really sure what causes depression yet. However, some theories suggest that if a person goes through a traumatic event, it can trigger some symptoms. Do you understand?” she waited for Betty to nod. “Excellent. I believe that part of why you feel depressed is because you went through something traumatic: your friend leaving town so suddenly and you finding his house in the way you did.”

“Betty, I feel that it might help you to try and get some closure. So, before you come and see me next, I want you to write a letter to your friend, Jughead” Betty’s brow creased instantly at her suggestion.

“But I don’t know where he lives. How can I write him a letter-“

“Just write it, put a pen to paper and write down everything you want to say to him. Write it all down, Betty and seal it in an envelope and bring it with you next week, okay?” Jennifer smiled a sympathetic, tight lipped smile in Betty’s direction.

“Okay.”

 

\--

 

**_Dear Jughead,_ **

“This is ridiculous!” Betty sighed aloud to her empty room, huffing and falling back against her pillows. She lay there for a moment, before sitting up again, determined to get this done.

 

**_Dear Jughead,_ **

**_I want you to know that it hurt that you left like you did, but mostly it hurt because you didn’t say anything to me. I don’t know why you went, but it looked like you had to leave in a hurry so I don’t doubt it was important, but I was hurt that you couldn’t tell me. You’ve always been one of my closest friends and you leaving like that with no explanation made me feel like you didn’t care enough to tell me why._ **

**_The way you have disappeared from this life scares me. It’s like there’s no trace of you anymore. The house was cleaned up and sold, the treehouse in the backyard was torn down. Every time I walk into Pop’s I expect to see you there in a booth, not that I go to Pop’s much anymore. There’s no beanies blocking my view of the board at school anymore. No one talks about the Jones family that left, I think they’re relieved, isn’t that awful? Even Archie doesn’t like talking about you, I think he’s more hurt than he wants to let on. It’s like there isn’t a single shred of evidence that you were here and it makes me feel insane. Sometimes I wonder if I made you up, like a twisted illusion my mind created to screw with me. If it wasn’t for the pictures I have of you, I’d swear it was true. Everyone thinks I’m crazy anyway._ **

**_There’s something very, very wrong with me Juggie. There’s this darkness inside me and I can’t control it. I have no idea what to do and the only person I want to talk to about it is you and you’re not here! Why aren’t you here?_ **

Betty doesn’t realise she’s crying until a tear slides off her cheek and drips onto the paper, slightly smudging the ink of her pen. She stops writing for a moment, taking a shaky breath.

**_I’ve been thinking about the way you hugged me the last time I saw you. You held me like you didn’t want to let me go. So why did you Juggie?_ **

**_I hope that wherever you are, you’re safe._ **

**_Love Betty Cooper x_ **

She carefully folds the paper, placing the letter in an envelope and sealing it shut, just like Jennifer had asked. She leaves the envelope blank.

As instructed, Betty brings the letter with her to her next appointment, handing Jennifer the envelope. Betty is certainly shocked when she watches tear the envelope in two, before she’s joining in, tearing the paper into hundreds of tattered pieces. With every rip, she feels a little lighter without understanding why.

Sometimes closure happens in unexpected ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I love you all <3 Leave me a comment to make me smile :)


	9. Betty Doesn't Go To Parties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty happens to turn up to the same party that Archie had dragged Jughead to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey my loves! I'm not sure how much I like this chapter, but here we are. 
> 
> Warnings: underage drinking

**Now:**

“I really am sorry for leaving, you know,” Jughead broke the lingering silence that hung over their booth. Betty hadn’t spoken in several minutes, just staring into the cup of tea placed between her hands that was surely cold by now, but she had yet to take a sip. “I couldn’t have done anything to change it, but I’m still sorry.”

“I know,” she let out a shaky breath, slowly nodding her head. “I understand, I do” her head nodding more vigorously, looking as if she was trying to convince herself more than Jughead. “I um… I just need a little bit of time, I think” her voice cracking in the middle as she finally raised her eyes to meet his. Jughead swallowed nervously, willing the lump in his throat to disappear.

“That’s okay, whatever you need” he replied calmly, nodding with her reassuringly. “I’m, uh, I’m here for the summer so take as much time as you need.”

Betty slipped out of the booth, looking down at Jughead with a sorrowful smile. “It was nice to see you, Juggie. Really” she placed a delicate hand over his, squeezing it gently before turning swiftly and leaving the diner.

Jughead felt a warmth spreading through him that he hadn’t experienced since the night a beautiful blonde girl hugged him goodbye, over three years ago.

\--

“So dude? How did it go?” Archie followed Jughead into the guest bedroom, flopping into the armchair in the corner.

“Could have been worse,” Jughead shrugged in reply, not really willing to participate in a full discussion of their meeting. He sat on the bed, not directly facing Archie.

“To be honest, I didn’t think she’d show” Archie admitted, raising his eyebrows a little, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“Why wouldn’t she show?” Jughead’s brow furrowed in confusion at his friend’s words.

“Bro, Betty’s been a mess for like the past three years. You leaving was the thing that kicked it all off, I didn’t think she’d be able to face you” Archie’s words add to the festering pit of guilt in his stomach. He’d knew his abrupt departure would have shaken things up in their lives, but since he’d been back in Riverdale he was discovering that his absence had cause more damage than he’d anticipated. That realisation made him feel sick to his stomach.

“Hey, my team-mate is having a party at his tonight and you’re coming with me” Archie announced abruptly, after seeing the sinking look on Jughead’s face, feeling the tense atmosphere that had suddenly clouded the room.

“Oh no, dude” Jughead shook his head enthusiastically. “I don’t do high school parties.”

“Well I think you owe me a few favours ‘best friend who left without saying goodbye’,” Archie shot a pointed look in Jughead’s direction, who was glaring back at him.

“You’re gonna play that card, huh?” he asked, grabbing a pillow from the bed and launching it towards Archie, who caught it with an irritating ease, simply laughing at the pathetic attempt.

“Yeah, I am actually” he retorted with a boyish grin. “Come on Jug, it’ll be fun, you can be my wingman!”

Jughead couldn’t help the snort that came at the suggestion of him having any role in picking up girls. “Yeah, hard pass.”

“Jug, we’re going, and you will have a good time! You can see some old faces, have a beer, it’ll be great” Archie mused, rising from his seat.

“I don’t drink” Jughead responded out automatically, ignoring Archie’s questioning look. “Look man, what if I bump into Betty? She said she wanted some space and I want to respect that, so…” he trailed off, hoping Archie would accept his excuse.

“Nah bro, it’s all good” Archie walked towards Jughead, pulling him up from the bed with a grin, “Betty doesn’t go to parties.”

\--

“V I can’t believe you dragged me to this!” Betty was cringing before they’d even been inside Reggie Mantle’s house for a full five minutes. The pounding music was already prompting a headache.

“Oh don’t be silly, we’re going to have fun!” Veronica insisted, handing Betty a red cup, “drink up B, fun starts now” she grinned and threw Betty a wink.

“Okay, but I’m not drinking loads tonight” she replied, taking a sip and wincing slightly and the strong alcohol taste. “Jesus V, what’s in this?”

Veronica said nothing, just winking again and holding her own cup to her lips. She began looking around the kitchen before her eyes darkened and narrowed suddenly, landing on something beyond the doorway. “Son of a bitch!” she cursed loudly, “I was hoping he wouldn’t come.”

Betty followed Veronica’s death glare, confused. Realisation came when her eyes landed on a familiar mop of red hair and she stifled a giggle. Unsurprising really, Betty figured, Archie was team-mates with Reggie on the football team, it made sense he would show up at his party. What was surprising though, was the tall raven-haired boy Archie had in tow.

“Never mind Archie, what is Jughead doing here?” Betty hissed to Veronica as her eyes landed on the beanie-wearing boy in question, grabbing her friend’s arm.

“ _That’s_ Jughead?” Veronica yelled slightly too loudly, causing a very panicked glare from Betty. “Sorry, sorry! Damn Betty, why didn’t you mention that he looked like a freaking greek god?” Betty watched Veronica’s eyes rake over where the two boys stood, still in the hallway, talking and laughing with each other.

“I had other things on my mind V!” she whispered, taking the opportunity to steal at a glance at him now. Somewhat reluctantly, Betty had to admit that Jughead had grown up considerably and was certainly very attractive, perfectly embodying the description ‘tall dark and handsome’,

“So what’s the verdict? Do we like him? Do I need to release my inner bitch?” Veronica chattered animatedly, both their gazes still lingering on the pair.

“I don’t know!” she nibbled her lip anxiously. Betty watched as Jughead tossed his head back laughing at something Archie had said. As he laughed, his gaze suddenly connected with Betty’s, laughter fading quickly. He shyly raised one hand in a wave, with a small smile in her direction. “Shit!” Betty pulled Veronica away from the doorway of the kitchen without an ounce of subtly, out of the boys’ eye line.

“Careful B! You almost made me spill my drink and this is a very expensive skirt!” Veronica tutted, wiping away imaginary droplets from her clothes.

“Forget what I said” Betty sighed, taking a long sip of her drink. “I’m going to need lots of drinks to get through tonight” she breathed nervously, taking another swing of the strong liquid, gradually getting used to the burning in her throat.

“That’s my girl B!” Veronica raised her cup, tapping the edge of it with Betty’s. “Now let’s get drunk!”

\--

It had been about two hours since he and Archie had arrived at the party, and Jughead had barely torn his eyes away from Betty. It wasn’t because he was checking her out, in fact he was trying _not_ to think about how incredible her legs looked, peeking out from her short green skirt. It was because had watched her knock back drink after drink, and it was starting to concern him. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust Betty, in general he had no problem with other people drinking, he just didn’t trust the swarm of teenagers around her. In his intense observation of Betty during the course of the evening, he’d noticed several guys ogling her legs and various other parts of her anatomy, making his skin crawl. Not that Betty had actually noticed or paid them any mind.

Like she had been for most of the night, Betty was currently dancing with a girl Jughead didn’t recognise, a petite Latina which Archie had been gazing at for an intriguing amount of time. Curious, Jughead pulled the red-head over to him.

“Who is that girl and why are you staring at her?” he asked abruptly, not seeing any point in easing into the subject. Archie’s eyes flicked from the girl to his friend, looking sheepish and embarrassed that he’d been caught.

“Her name’s Veronica, she’s Betty’s best friend” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “she moved here like 8 or 9 months ago. We sort of uh… have a thing, I guess.”

Realisation washed over Jughead, Archie liked her. He smirked at his friend, patting his back lightly, “Oh so that’s why you haven’t required my non-existent wingman abilities. I take it you like her?”

“She kinda hates me” he laughed, staring into his drink.

“Were you a douche?” Jughead asked casually. He smirked at the glare Archie shot him, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

When Jughead returned his gaze, Betty and Veronica were still dancing enthusiastically, giggling to each other drunkenly. Jughead frowned as a guy he recognised as Reggie approached them.

“My, my, Betty Cooper, you look incredible this evening” his tone oozed charm as he raked his eyes over her. “Dance with me?” he asked, shooting her a flirtatious grin.

Betty seemed to squirm under his gaze, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. “No thank you.”

“How about you, sweetness?” his attention switched to Veronica, who peered over her shoulder. It occurred to Jughead that she was glancing at Archie next to him, whose jaw was noticeably clenched, the fist that wasn’t holding his drink curled tightly. Veronica turned back to Reggie, a sly smile on her face.

“Sure, why not” she replied to him, taking his hand, shooting an apologetic look towards Betty.

“For fuck’s sake Ronnie” Archie muttered under his breath before storming out of the living room angrily.

Betty remained rooted in her spot, suddenly a lot less confident than she had been a few minutes before. Jughead noticed her hands curl into tight fists, so clearly uncomfortable. He debated mentally for a minute whether she’d cuss him out for going over there.

( Fuck it. ) he thought, observing that her knuckles were starting to turn white from clenching her hands so tightly. He walked over to her cautiously.

“Betty, you okay?” he called once he was standing a few paces from her. Her head whipped around, the blonde curls she’d pulled loose earlier flying around her face.

“No, no. I don’t want to talk to you” she muttered nervously, shaking her head quickly. Jughead tried not let her candid words hurt him, reminding himself that she was drunk.

“That’s okay,” he tried to muster a soothing tone, holding his hands up. “We don’t have to talk. Just let me help you out of this crowded room, yeah? You don’t look very happy” he spoke calmly.

After a moment, she nodded slowly, gently biting her lip. He held out his hand for her, cautiously aware of the nervousness apparent in her eyes. He didn’t miss how she wiped her hands on her skirt before reaching out a trembling hand to grip his. Jughead couldn’t help the sigh of relief, gently guiding her through the living room.

Betty was substantially drunker than he had expected. Whilst she had been dancing, she’d seemed fairly in control of her movements, but as they walked she swayed and stumbled over her feet clumsily. Jughead gripped her hand a bit tighter and pulled her into the kitchen, eyes searching for a bottle of water. He finally found one, unscrewing its cap and walking over to Betty, who was leaning against the counter heavily, hunched over slightly.

“Here Betty, will you drink this?” he held out the bottle of water.

She shook her head vigorously, frowning. “No, no I don’t want it” her words were slightly slurred when she spoke.

“Come on, Betty just drink the water” he sighed. “It’ll make you feel better, I promise.”

Betty sighed loudly and dramatically, rolling her eyes exaggeratedly and taking the water bottle. Jughead couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at her alcohol-induced dramatics, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck.

“You wanna know something?” she drawled, blinking slowly and pointing a finger towards Jughead, putting the water bottle down on the counter. He only raised an eyebrow questioningly in response. “I really wanted to be mad at you… But it’s really difficult ‘cause you’re being too nice you… jerk!”

Jughead’s lips tilted into a faint smile at her words, realising she was an honest drunk. He gently pushed the water bottle towards her again, nodding at it, gesturing for her to drink more. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, which had chimed signalling a new message. He smiled at the text from Archie, who had demanded to programme his number into Jughead’s phone the minute he’d crossed the threshold of the Andrew’s house the previous day.

**Archie:** Don’t wait up, Veronica ditched the douche and we’re going back to hers to ‘talk’ ;)

“Betty, how are you getting home?” Jughead asked, looking up from his phone, conscious that she’d probably arrived with Veronica.

“Well… I was _supposed_ to be driving me and V home” she drawled, waving her hands a little too enthusiastically, “but then YOU showed up here and now I can’t!”

Jughead dismissed the confusing second half of her statement, deciding Betty probably wasn’t in the right headspace. “Have you got your keys?”

Betty fumbled in her pockets for a few moments, a deep scowl on her face before pulling out a small set of keys. “Ta-da!” she smiled proudly, holding the keys up and giggling.

“Can I drive you home?” he offered with a smile, “I haven’t had anything to drink except a trusty Coca-Cola.”

“Bbbbut what about V?” she asked, looking around panicked, apparently just now realising that her friend wasn’t in the vicinity anymore.

“She’s uh… otherwise occupied?” he murmured. “Veronica’s fine, I promise. Please Betty, I just want to make sure you get home safe” his tone was somewhat desperate now, anxious to remove himself and Betty from party as soon as possible.

She stared at him with wide, slightly glazed over eyes for a moment, probably debating whether not Jughead could be trusted. He smiled at her reassuringly, holding his hand out for the car keys. After a minute, Betty pushed herself away from the counter and Jughead was surprised when, instead of handing him the car keys, she slipped her hand into his.

“Okay Juggie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave me a comment <3


	10. Why Are You Hugging Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead drives Betty home from the party, running into some minor difficulties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I quite enjoyed writing this one- introduction of Kevin y'all! 
> 
> Warnings: underage drinking

**Now:**

“Betty put your seat belt back on or I’m stopping the car” Jughead called anxiously, glancing towards the passenger side, where Betty was fiddling with the strap and giggling drunkenly.

“I don’t want to Juggie, it’s hurting my neck” she sighed dramatically and rubbing her neck, shrieking loudly when Jughead abruptly pulled the car over.

“Put your seatbelt on!” he tried to muster as stern a voice as he could, but Betty was grinning widely, smiling at him and laughing and it was seriously affecting his authority.

“You know, you don’t look like Juggie anymore…” she leaned back in the seat, making no effort to follow his order, just continue to stare at him with dilated pupils, slowing raking over his face. Jughead tried to avoid squirming under her gaze, but he could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks. “Juggie was a skinny teenage boy… you don’t look like Juggie” she rambled on, sinking further into her seat and shutting her eyes.

“Jesus, is it possible that you’ve gotten more drunk?” he muttered under his breath, pulling the beanie from his head and running a hand through his hair anxiously before replacing the item securely.

“I haven’t forgiven you yet” Betty’s eyes fluttering open again to look at him. “I think that I want to… but my heart hurts when I think about you, when I see you…” Jughead just listened to her words, embracing the alcohol-induced honesty for a moment. “I’m sorry I slapped you, I shouldn’t have done that” she sighed, placing her head in her hands. “I really shouldn’t have done that, I’m so sorry for being crazy” a gentle sob wracked through her body.

“Hey, hey… Betts” Jughead touched her shoulder lightly, “look at me, Betty.” She did as he asked, staring at him with shimmering ponds of deep green waters. “I don’t blame you for hitting me, not one bit. It’s okay… Everyone’s a little crazy sometimes” he tried to reassure her, with a weak smile trained on his lips.

“Then why am I the only who people talk about? Why do the people in this town, at my high school, all call me Crazy Cooper and Bat-shit Betty? Huh? Why am I the only one…” her tears were falling freely now, her sobs becoming louder. It was hard for Jughead not to be heartbroken by watching her crumble in front of him.

“Betty, I’m so sorry… You don’t deserve that” he desperately wanted to console her, make her feel better somehow but he had never felt so helpless. Before he could regret it, he pulled Betty close, wrapping his arms around her across the console of the car. He felt how her body tensed up for a moment, and sighed with relief as her body relaxed, slipping her arms around his torso. Jughead just let Betty cry into his chest, just hugging her to him and stroking her hair soothingly.

After a few minutes, Betty’s sobs faded into quiet sniffles, breathing shakily. “Juggie?” she muttered.

“Yeah Betty?” he whispered back to her.

“Why are you hugging me?”

He thought for a moment, questioning himself why he had embraced her. He chuckled lightly to himself, “because you won’t remember in the morning.”

She laughed with him quietly. “I guess I’m pretty drunk” she said, pulling away from him. He tried not to think about how much colder his body felt without her holding him. Jughead watched her push the hair away from her face, hastily swatting the tears away from her eyes. “I’m sorry for crying on you.”

“That’s okay. Now will you put your seatbelt on so I can finish driving you home?” he smiled at her, leaning back in the driver’s seat, placing his hands on the wheel.

She sat back nodding, reaching for her seatbelt and clipping it into place, sighing heavily.

“Okay, let’s get you home Betty.”

\--

“Whoops, careful Betts” Jughead muttered as Betty stumbled slightly, falling into him. He placed an arm around her waist to steady her, removing it as soon as she was stable again.

“I’m okay, I’m fineeee…” she reassured, taking a few more wobbly steps. Jughead continued instep beside her, just in case she stumbled again. He offered her a hand when they reached the bottom of the porch steps, which she took hesitantly while he helped her ascend them. Jughead had intended to let his hand fall from hers once they reached the door, but her slender fingers gripped his tightly, like she wanted to hold on.

“Uh, drink lots of water before you go to bed, okay? It’ll help your headache in the morning” he offered nervously, squeezing her hand back gently.

“Thank you for taking care of me Juggie, I know I’m not an easy drunk” Betty smiled apologetically.

“It’s okay, I’ve dealt with a lot worse” he shrugged in reply, catching her questioning look, “my dad fell off the wagon more times than I can count, and uh, he’s a lot harder to deal with than a girl who just doesn’t want to wear her seatbelt” he said with a sad smile.

“I’m sorry, Jug” she didn’t meet his eyes. “For everything.”

“Hey Betts?” he cleared his throat timidly. When she looked at him questioningly he asked, “do you still need some space?”

She stared at him for a moment, tracing her eyes over the sorrowful smile on his lips and the anxiety lingering in his eyes. Regretfully, she nodded her head softly, holding his gaze. He nodded to her in return. “Is that okay?” she whispered so quietly she was afraid he wouldn’t hear.

“Of course it’s okay, more than okay” his fingers slipped from hers. “Get some rest Betty, I hope to see you soon.” She watched him walk down the steps and cross over to Archie’s front yard, slipping into the house without casting her a second glance. Betty knew he was just doing what she asked, but she wondered why it made her feel so empty that their conversation had ended far too soon.

When she fell into bed, Betty quickly and easily slipped into a deep slumber, infiltrated only with dreams of a warm hand holding hers tightly.

\--

In the morning, Betty woke to a loud ringing resonating through her room, irking the pounding in her head. She frowned sleepily, sluggishly reaching for her phone on the bedside table. She finally grasped it, not bothering to open her eyes and check the caller ID, just pressing the device to her ear.

“Hello?” she croaked tiredly, rubbing her free hand across her forehead in a futile attempt to soothe her headache.

“Wow okay, that answers my question about how hungover you are!” A tinkering laugh filtered through the phone’s speaker.

“Morning V,” Betty sighed, finally fluttering her eyes open, only slightly grimacing at the uninhibited bright morning light. “Why on earth are you calling so early?”

“B, it’s eleven thirty, I presumed you’d be awake!” Betty glanced at the clock sitting on her night stand, stunned to find Veronica was correct and that she’d slept until nearly midday.

“Ah shoot… I was supposed to be helping my parents at the Register today!” Betty ripped the covers from her body, sitting up quickly but abruptly stilling when she felt a wave of nausea threaten.

“Please B, you’re already late, just indulge me a little while?” Veronica pleaded from the other end of the line.

Betty sat back against the headboard sighing, “fine, what’s up V?”

“I broke my vow, I let the devil back into my life.”

“Do tell Archie I said hello, though ‘the devil’ might be a little harsh” Betty laughed to herself. “Did you sleep with him again?”

“Guilty and I’m really annoyed about it because I loved every minute. God, my life was so much easier before Archie Andrews wormed his way in”

“I’m sorry V, but you guys really should talk. It’s only as complicated as you make it.”

“Yeah well, the plan was to talk last night and then I had three shots of peach schnapps and I didn’t really feel like talking anymore, if you catch my drift” Veronica chuckled slightly, Betty could practically _hear_ the wink Veronica was shooting her.

“Oh gosh V! Look I’m really sorry but I do have to go, I’m sure my mom wouldn’t hesitate from firing me from my internship if I don’t go by there soon, it doesn’t matter that I’m her daughter” she cooed apologetically.

“It’s fine, I’m just going to sit here and mull over my poor life choices, have fun B! Oh wait!” she shouted abruptly.

“What?” Betty asked her, finally slipping out of the bed, wandering towards her vanity.

“How did you get home last night? Please tell me you didn’t drive!” Veronica’s tone was panicked.

Betty hesitated slightly, wondering whether she was remembering the events of the night correctly. “No I, uh, I’m pretty sure Jughead drove me.”

“Well that’s interesting… We’ll discuss that later, see you soon B!” Veronica chirped cheerfully, before hanging up the phone.

She’d barely put her phone down in front of her when Kevin burst through her bedroom door.

“Oh for goodness sakes!” Betty cried, burying her face in her hands. “Kevin! What are you doing here? Christ, I’m going to be so late… Of all the mornings to finally be popular!”

“Oh to the Register?” he mused, flopping down on her bed, lying on his front. “Don’t fret my child, Mommy dearest called me and asked if I knew why you weren’t answering your phone. I knew you went to that party last night so I presumed you were hungover and lied and told her you were feeling sick, try to look that way when you see her later. Oh, and hi to you too by the way.”

“Oh Kev, you truly are my hero! The sick thing might not be too far off to be honest” Betty admitted, feeling her stomach lurch again, begging her body not to make her throw up. She sunk into the chair placed in front of her mirror, facing Kevin.

“Well you can repay me in gossip! Why the hell didn’t you tell me the infamous Jughead Jones was back in town? Or that you’ve been talking to him?” he asked dramatically, sitting up on the bed.

“How did you know that?” Betty asked with her mouth slightly agape, she’d barely spoken to Jughead really, she hoped surely Riverdale wasn’t that sparse of news.

“Oh please, the son of the family that mysteriously vanished three years ago just turns up again out of the blue? It was bound to be the talk of the town! Also,” he avoided her gaze, “Moose _may or may not_ have swung by my place after the party last night.”

“Kevin!” Betty scolded her friend, shaking her head at him disapprovingly with wide eyes.

“It was the last time I swear” he held his hands up defensively. “Anyway, he was more than eager to gush about you and Jughead leaving together. Let’s focus on that, shall we?” he smiled, grabbing a pillow and hugging it to his chest.

“He drove me home” Betty shrugged in reply, turning back around to her vanity, grabbing her hairbrush and beginning to comb it through her tangled blonde tresses.

“Did you hook up with him?” Kevin asked abruptly.

Betty stopped, placing the brush down, “What? No of course not!” She walked over to the bed, sitting down in front of Kevin. “We’d talked earlier in the day… or he talked and I listened. Then he turns up at the party with Archie, who he’s staying with by the way, yeah right over there!” she said pointing to the window. “Anyway, he arrived at the party and I panicked and got really drunk.”

“Betty…” It was Kevin’s turn to scold his friend, though he offered her a sympathetic smile.

“I know, it was stupid but V’s an enabler. It gets a little fuzzy after that but I’m pretty sure Jughead looked after my drunk ass after Veronica ditched me. Unfortunately for me, it means I was probably way too honest with him and I more than likely cried. God, I hate drunk Betty” she finished, falling onto the bed face down by Kevin’s legs, embarrassed.

“Hey, drunk Betty isn’t _so_ bad” Kevin said, stroking her hair soothingly. “Are you guys on good terms?”

“I have no clue” she sighed, lifting her head from the mattress, resting her chin on her hands. “He actually has a pretty decent explanation for why he left…” when she caught Kevin’s eye, she saw the pleading there. “No I can’t tell you. But it’s pretty serious.”

“I feel like I really want to forgive him Kevin. Part of me feels like I’m betraying myself by doing that. But the rest of me really wants my friend back… And he’s been so nice, really genuine and just way too understanding, and that just makes me feel like I’m the bad guy, you know?” Betty nibbled her lip gently, thinking out loud properly for the first time since Jughead had arrived.

“God, you poor thing” Kevin sighed, settling so he was laying down next to Betty. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t think I’ve worked that out yet” she sighed. It felt like every time Jughead came close to breaking down her walls, Betty automatically put them straight back up, she wasn’t sure she even wanted it to be that way. The previous night’s memories were in pieces, but between the blurred lines, Betty could remember a feeling of safeness and warmth that hadn’t been familiar in a long time. A part of her suspected that that feeling was something that had always been reserved for only her and Jughead, a connection she had only with him. Part of her craved it.

“I think I have to stop pushing him away, Kev” she whispered, allowing a few traitorous tears to slip out.

( But I’m afraid of having my heart torn out again. )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please please leave me a comment <3


	11. Not Even Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie questions Jughead's feelings for Betty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short little chapter giving some background! A little Archie and Jughead time.

**Then:**

“See you later boys!” a 12 year old Betty called melodiously to her friends sitting by the riverbank down at Sweetwater, as she began walking away from the river. Archie and Jughead waved goodbye, the latter of the two struggling not to follow her retreating form until she was out of sight. When he finally dropped his gaze, Archie was staring at Jughead curiously. Jughead wouldn’t meet his friend’s eyes, instead standing up and brushing himself off, staring out at the river’s shimmering waters.

“When were you gonna tell me, Jug?” Archie called up to him, picking up a pebble and tossing it between his hands, absentmindedly.

“Tell you what, Archie?” his eyes stayed trained ahead of him, not meet Archie’s gaze.

“That you have a crush on Betty” Archie stated nonchalantly, raising to his feet and standing beside his friend. Jughead did his best to not react to Archie’s words, but he was somewhat bored of not being able to talk about it.

“That’s unusually receptive of you, Arch” he murmured, looking down at his feet, burying his hands in his pockets.

“You’re not exactly subtle” he laughed, bending down and picking up a few flat stones before tossing one so it skipped gracefully along the waters’ surface.

“Subtle enough that she doesn’t notice” Jughead shrugged, taking a stone from Archie and cringing when it skimmed unsuccessfully. “It doesn’t matter, she likes someone else” he murmured, casting a glance towards Archie. Betty certainly didn’t hide her fondness for their red-headed friend, yet the boy in question was as unaware of Betty’s crush on him, as Betty was about Jughead’s crush on her. He tried not to let it hurt when Betty stared up at Archie with doting eyes or smiled a little wider when she saw him. He tried…

“How long have you liked her?” Archie mumbled, casting a glance at Jughead’s face, which was coloured with a light blush.

He smiled slightly as he heard Archie’s question, reminiscing fondly. “For as long as I can remember.”

\--

_He was four years old, told by his dad to go play in the backyard with Fred Andrews’ son while he spoke with him. He’d stumbled down the steps into the yard, hiding shyly behind the bannister. There was two children sitting in the grass, giggling to each other loudly. One is a boy with hair redder than he’s ever seen before, warm brown eyes and a splattering of light freckles on his nose. The other is a girl, facing away from him so all he can see is her hair, falling onto her shoulders in waves the colour of honey._

_“Hey, who’s that?” the boy shouted, pointing at where Jughead cowered on the steps. The girl’s head peered over her shoulder, following her friend’s gaze. Her eyes landed on Jughead and she smiled toothily, pushing herself off the floor and running over._

_She stopped in front of him, still grinning widely and waved enthusiastically. “Hi, I’m Betty! What’s your name?”_

_“Jughead” he eyed Betty suspiciously._

_She giggled cheerfully. “Jughead? That’s silly” she smiled at him brightly. “Come and meet my friend Archie” she beckoned, waving her hand and running off to where the boy was still sitting in the grass. He pushed off the steps and followed her._

_“Archie, this is Juggie” Betty waved her hand between the two boys. “I think he’s going to be our friend” she said smiling warmly at Jughead._

_“Juggie?” Archie frowned at the name, looking at him sceptically._

_“It’s Jughead” he mumbled nervously. “I’m going to go inside” he announced, turning away and walking quickly, too shy and awkward to linger._

_“Hey wait! No! Hey!” Betty called after him, running in front of him to block his path. “Stay here Juggie” she pleaded grabbing his hand._

\--

“She held my hand and asked me to stay” he told Archie, staring out at the river again, relaxed by the gentle lapsing of the water. “And I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since.”

“You ever gonna tell her?” he replied, watching Jughead’s expression carefully. A trace of a smile settled on his lips.

“Not a chance in hell.”

\--

**Now:**

Archie waked into his bedroom, surprised when he saw Jughead standing there, eyes latched on the window. He walked up to him, flinging an arm around his shoulders, following his gaze. Betty was sitting on her window seat, chatting animatedly with Kevin, smiling and laughing. Archie smiled at the realisation of what had Jughead so entranced.

“You never got over her, did you?” he asked.

“Not even close.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me a comment <3


	12. A Smile That Shone Like The Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead finally start to build bridges and fix up their relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly less angsty chapter for you, things are looking up! I really love writing the friendships in this story... You got a bit of Jug/Arch and Arch/Betts in this one
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy <3

**Now:**

Jughead was starting to grow used to life in the Andrews’ household. Only a week and a half of living with Archie and Fred had been less complicated than his own family situation had been in his complete seventeen years. There was no incessant yelling filtering through the thin walls of his bedroom, no watching his mom or his sister cry as his dad drunkenly stumbled in at night. The house was blissfully quiet, peaceful. Of course, he knew their life wasn’t perfect, but Jughead couldn’t help but envy the simplicity of Archie’s home life compared to his own.

There was really only one thing to complain about.

“Archie, dude, you can’t cook for shit” Jughead yelled, chewing the ‘pancakes’ his friend had served him with a deep scowl. “Ugh, how could I do this to my mouth?” he grimaced, swallowing the mouthful regretfully.

Archie frowned, shoving a forkful of his breakfast into his own mouth. “Oh yeah, that’s not right” his face contorted, chewing slowly. After a few seconds of agonising chewing, Archie stood up from his stool, walking to the bin and spat the food into the trash can. “I swore I was getting better, fuck.”

“I’ll pretty much eat anything, but I draw the line” Jughead pushed his plate away from him, looking at his friend apologetically. “Sorry bro.”

“It’s alright dude, you’re right. Tastes like shit” Archie laughed, picking the plates up from the kitchen island and sliding their contents into the bin. “I’ve been trying to actually learn how to cook but turns out it’s pretty difficult. My mom pretty much used to do all the cooking before she moved out” Archie said with a sad smile, grabbing a cereal box from one of the kitchen cabinets. Jughead stood up and retrieved a couple of bowls.

“Man, that sucks. You miss her?” he asked sympathetically.

“Yeah I do. But she wasn’t happy, you know?” he replied with a shrug, pouring them both a large bowl of cereal, pushing one towards Jughead. “Neither of them were. They parted on good terms, so I guess I’m happy about that” he shoved a spoonful into his mouth.

Jughead stayed quiet for a minute or two, thinking about his own parents. He sometimes wished they would just end it and put each of other out of their misery, he knew they hadn’t been happy in a long time. But he knew if they separated, it would leave him stuck in the middle. If he were to choose his mom, his dad would be left alone to fend for himself but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be condemned to looking after his dad by himself either. Jughead cleared his throat after a minute, pulling himself from his thoughts and prompting Archie to look up from his bowl.

“Um, I haven’t really said this to yet but I, uh” he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, “I’m sorry I left you too. I know I told you what happened but I, um… I didn’t really say I was sorry.” He stirred the contents of his bowl, refusing to meet his gaze. “But I am.”

“Dude, don’t get emotional on me” Archie murmured, laughing nervously. “But for what it’s worth, thank you. Means a lot” he smiled across the table, which Jughead couldn’t help but return, laughing a little quietly. Both their head snaps up when there was a firm knock on the door.

“Who swings by the house at 9:30am?” Jughead asked in disbelief, glancing at the clock on the wall.

Archie took their bowls, dumping them in the sink and laughing to himself. “Only one person I know” he chuckled, turning and facing Jughead. “I think you should get it bro” he said with a toothy grin.

Jughead frowned at him suspiciously, pushing himself off the stool nonetheless. He glanced back at Archie a few more times as he made his way through the hallway to in front of the door, wondering why his friend was still grinning at him like the Cheshire cat. Before he opened the door, he momentarily cursed himself for not getting changed out of his pyjamas before coming downstairs. Shrugging, he pulled open the door, eyes widening in surprise at the face that greeted him.

“Betty!” he yelled in shock, now really, really annoyed that he hadn’t gotten dressed. Despite him shouting in her face and not being properly dressed, she still smiled at him warmly.

“Good morning, Jughead!” he wondered how someone could be so cheerful so early in the morning, but that smile just radiated off her face, filling the doorway with light.

“Sorry, hi…” he internally cringed at his fumbling awkwardness, willing himself to appear just a little composed. “Uh, what are you doing here? Not that it’s bad! It’s good to see you, I mean, it’s just uh… unexpected” he sighed, finishing his rambling with a sigh. He looked up at Betty to see her biting back a laugh, eyes shining with amusement.

“Sorry…” she giggled melodiously, shaking her head at him. “I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me before I go to work?”

“With me?” he asked lamely, cringing again. ( Of course with you dumbass, that’s what she just said. )

“Yeah, if you want” she replied, with that smile which made his heart beat faster slipping back onto her face. He couldn’t concentrate when she beamed at him like that, and clearly couldn’t form a coherent sentence.

“Uh huh, yeah I’d love that” he said, nodding his head a little too vigorously. “I just need to uh… change. Do you wanna come in for a minute?”

She nodded, stepping through the doorway sheepishly, pulling the sleeves of her cardigan over her hands slightly. She peered into the kitchen, spotting a flash of red hair and choosing to walk towards the room while Jughead disappeared up the stairs. “Hey Arch!” she sang cheerfully as she entered the kitchen.

“Morning Betty!” he shot a grin her way. “What brings you here?” he said with a knowing smirk, well aware that Betty knew he had heard their whole conversation.

“Oh nothing really… Say, have you heard Veronica recently? Haven’t been able to get a hold of her the last couple of days…” Betty feigned innocence, raising an eyebrow at him challengingly. Of course this was a lie, Betty had been receiving multiple unfiltered texts about very intimate details she wished Veronica would keep to herself.

“I may have seen her once or twice” Archie muttered sheepishly. “Touché Cooper” he declared, receiving a triumphant grin from Betty. Suddenly, Jughead entered the kitchen fully dressed, beanie included, though slightly breathless from rushing. He glanced between Archie and Betty curiously.

“What did I miss?” he said, studying the pair’s gaze with suspicion, eyes flicking between them.

“Nothing” Archie murmured whilst at the same time Betty announced “Archie and Veronica are banging” to which both boys’ eyebrows shot up. Betty only laughed at their gobsmacked expressions at her unabashed statement, turning towards Jughead with a grin. “You ready?” she asked. When he nodded silently, she faced Archie with a charming Cooper grin. “See you later Arch” she waggled her fingers at him as she walked towards the front door.

“What just happened?” Archie asked, stunned. Jughead just shrugged with a smile and followed Betty out onto the porch.

“What on earth was that?” Jughead asked her, laughing. She bit back a laugh, quirking her head in the direction of the sidewalk, gesturing for them to start walking. He followed her, falling into step beside her.

“I wanted to make him squirm a little” she giggled slightly, looking up at him with bright eyes. “Payback for being a jerk to V for the last couple of months I guess” she shrugged.

“I knew he was a douche” Jughead chuckled lowly, thinking back to his first conversation about Veronica with Archie. “I didn’t think you were the type to indulge in revenge.”

“I’m not, I just like getting back at Archie” she mused, with a tight-lipped smile.

“I’m going to try this again, without the fumbling hopefully…” Jughead murmured, Betty’s brow creasing at his out of the blue statement. “I really am happy you’re talking to me Betty, but can I ask why?”

Betty looked away, unable to withstand his piercing gaze, instead choosing to watch her boots as they paced the sidewalk leisurely. There had been no real reason why she’d suddenly reached out to him, she was just fed up of hiding. “I just wanted to talk to you, maybe without the heavy emotional tension the last couple of our conversations have had…” she replied, breathing a laugh.

“Good enough for me” Jughead offered her a boyish grin. “So what have you been up to?” he chuckled, not really sure how to begin, delighted when her laughter mixed in with his own.

“Well you know, there’s school. I get good grades, I write for the paper, I organise school events… oh I’m a cheerleader now! How about that huh?” she laughed, looking up at him with a proud smile. “There’s friends, like Kevin who’s brilliant and uncomplicated. Then there’s Archie and V, who are anything but simple. I mean individually they’re great but it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, you know?”

Jughead was just content to listen to her talk, smiling as he watched her explained a brief history of Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge. He was simply entranced by the way she used her hands animatedly, how she kept looking up at him with shy smiles and wide green eyes. His brow creased when her smile faded quickly.

“And then… there’s family. Mom and Dad are okay, I think. But uh, Polly… Well she’s good but she left” she murmured with a sad smile.

“Why’d she leave?” he frowned, conscious that he had no right to judge but he felt sorry that Betty had to go through that, again.

“It’s okay, she’s happy. Her and her boyfriend, Jason, ran away when she got pregnant a few months back. I’m happy for her, I just miss her” her hands were clenching and unclenching, a gesture of hers that Jughead was beginning to notice more frequently. “But hey, I wanted less emotionally loaded talk!” she waved her hand, dismissing the topic abruptly. “Oh my gosh, I’ve been talking your ear off! What’s your life like in Toledo?”

“It’s okay” he smiled at her. “It’s… different from here” he said, glancing around the quiet suburban streets, enjoying the solitude of being only with Betty, “in more ways than one.” There was no one in Toledo who had a smile that lit up rooms like Betty Cooper’s did.

“It’s fine. I made a friend” he grinned, thinking about Sabrina.

“Just one?”

“Trust me, she’s enough. She’s like a ball of energy I swear to God, it’s exhausting” he said, shaking his head fondly. “Mostly I just write and keep to myself.”

“You still write?” she gasped excitedly, grabbing his arm lightly, a jolt of electricity shooting through Jughead’s body at her totally innocent action.

“Yeah, you couldn’t stop me if you tried” he tried to keep his voice steady, despite the nervousness the friendly contact was causing. He tried not to sigh heavily in relief when her arm dropped to her side again, with only a small part of him mourning the loss of contact.

“Oh Juggie, that’s so great!” she bubbled excitedly, while Jughead smiled at the familiar nickname that fell off her tongue. “You write non-fiction?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“If you’re interested, uh…” she trailed off, looking up at him anxiously all of a sudden. “My parents are thinking about hiring another intern for the summer at the Register. I know you probably didn’t come here to work but it’d be great experience for you and…” she rambled nervously.

“Honestly? That sounds great Betty” he admitted, having work experience at the Register would certainly give him some added writing experience. Jughead couldn’t deny that the added bonus of the opportunity to spend extra time with Betty wasn’t affecting his enthusiasm.

“Yeah?” she smiled eagerly. “I’ll talk to my parents. Could you maybe email me some of your work or something so I could show them?”

“I uh, I don’t have your email address. Or your number…” he murmured sheepishly.

“We can fix that easily, Juggie” Betty giggled sweetly, “give me your phone.” She held out her hand expectantly, programming her details into his contacts and handing him the device again with a smile. “Anyway, speaking of the Register, that’s where I should be by now…”

“Sure, I’ll let you go” he said, turning to face her.

“It was really good to see you Jughead” Betty glanced up at him, locking their gazes. “ _Really_ it was” a smile gracing her face. Jughead didn’t know how he had gone three years without seeing that beautiful alignment of lips and teeth beaming with happiness because now every time he saw it, he craved more of her smiles.

“It was good to see you too, Betty” he breathed, returning her smile with one of his own. She turned and started walking in the direction of the Register’s offices but Jughead couldn’t force his eyes from her retreating form, staying rooted in his spot. When she reached the end of the street, Betty turned back to glance at Jughead. She looked somewhat surprised that he hadn’t moved but after a moment, she did it again.

She flashed him a smile that shone like the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought, leave me a comment <3


	13. Riverdale Missed You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty convinces Alice of why Jughead deserves a job at the Register and Jughead and Betty do some much needed catching up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is sort of two chapters in one? But I didn't really want to separate them. Anyway, here's a lil update, I hope y'all enjoy <3
> 
> Also, I think chapters are going to be mainly in the 'Now' timeline, I think what I wanted to do with 'Then' has been said. Any thoughts?

**Now:**

“No, absolutely not Elizabeth!” Alice Cooper shouted furiously, throwing down a stack of papers onto her desk. “I will not have it” she yelled sternly.

“What? Why?” Betty called timidly, almost wincing at the meek sound of her own voice which paled in comparison to the fierce tone her mother held.

“Because that boy has caused you enough heartbreak to last a lifetime, I will not invite him into my offices so he can worm his way back into your life, Elizabeth. I simply cannot believe that you would ask me to do this” she crossed her arms over her chest, perfectly manicured fingers tapping her upper arm agitatedly.

“I’m going to see Jughead whether he works here or not” Betty spoke with more conviction in her voice, willing herself to appear more confident than she felt. “Did you read his writing?”

Alice avoided her gaze, staring out the front windows of the offices instead, pouting stubbornly.

“Do you not see how talented he is? Are you really going to let your own vendetta against Jughead stop you from helping a talented writer like him? A writer as talented as him?” Betty’s questions, her pleads, came from a genuine appreciation of Jughead’s words, regardless of what she thought of him as a person; which she still hadn’t quite figured out. When she’d received the email with files of Jughead’s writing, she had certainly been expecting a high level of ability, after all, Jughead had always been wise beyond his years. However, when she read through the various documents attached, she’d been truly astonished. Having inherited her parent’s shared love for writing and journalism, Betty had always had an appreciation for words and she couldn’t help but get lost in the way Jughead’s words flowed along the page. She felt lost in them, unable to tear her eyes away, just endlessly reading and re-reading. Jughead’s skill for writing went beyond what was required for the Register’s internship, he might have even been too talented for them.

“I read them” Alice snapped curtly, still not meeting her daughter’s gaze, just staring out of the window. She sighed, lowering herself into the desk chair, placing a hand on her forehead. Betty’s composure softened, not that she’d been putting up a particularly hard exterior beforehand, walking around to stand beside her mother, placing a delicate hand on her shoulder. Alice looked up Betty with an expression that rarely graced her face: vulnerability. It didn’t startle Betty to see the worry that swam in the eyes staring back at her, it was something she had grown accustomed to after years of pity and people tiptoeing around her. Calmly and quietly, she lowered herself down, kneeling in front of her mom’s chair, taking both her hands in her own.

“I know why you’re worried about me” she breathed tenderly, stroking the back of her mom’s hand, “and I appreciate it” she continued, looking up and offering a weak smile. “I haven’t really ever been good at talking to you about this” Betty continued nervously, gaze flicking back onto their joined hands, afraid to meet her mom’s eyes.

“It’s okay, Betty” Alice reassured her soothingly, brushing her thumb along Betty’s hand and silently encouraging her to go on.

“Jughead is back for the summer, at first I struggled with it. You know he was sort of a trigger for all the… bad feelings” she breathed shakily. “But he was patient, he gave me space. He hasn’t forced me to talk to him at all, he waited for me to come to him and I was so grateful for that” a small smile made its way onto her face and she looked up at her mom shyly. “I want to get to know my friend again Mom, I’ve wasted too much time being angry at him, angry at the world… I’m just tired of being angry. Jennifer always told me in our sessions that it was a good idea for me to seek closure, and isn’t the best way of doing that fixing my relationship with Jughead?” she asked rhetorically, watching Alice’s eyes slip closed in defeat. “I would really love it if Jughead could work here for a little while with me. With us. Plus, he really is an incredible writer” she breathed with a quiet laugh. Betty waited silently, letting her mom absorb her words without interference, just continuing to cradle her hands tenderly.

Alice’s eyes fluttered open, meeting her daughters with a slight shimmer of moisture covering them. “Would it make you happy?” she choked out hoarsely, and Betty knew she wasn’t just asking about the internship. When Betty had been drowning in her depression, Alice had become fiercely protective of her, even more so than before, so Betty acknowledged this was tough for her. From her mom’s perspective, Betty allowing Jughead back into her life was essentially letting a person in who had the power to obliterate it all.

“Jughead leaving didn’t break my whole world apart… well I guess it did for a little while” Betty let the thoughts flow from her mind unfiltered, “but life went on, I carried on eventually. But, I guess for a long time, I just felt like there was a piece of me missing. Like, I wasn’t broken down completely, but I haven’t been whole either?” Betty’s eyes were clouding with tears, her voice growing thick with emotion.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be whole again, Mom. When Polly left, it was different but it felt like I lost another piece… or it got taken away from me. Again.” At the mention of Polly, Betty looked up at her Mom in time to see a singular tear slip from her eye, falling onto their clasped hands.

“Building bridges with Jughead means getting a piece back” she continued, sniffling quietly. “It means I’m on my way to being whole again” Alice suddenly let out a sob at Betty’s words, placing a hand behind her head and pulling her close. She leaned into her mom’s embrace, wrapping her arms around her tightly and returning the force of the hug.

“I love you Betty” she whimpered quietly, kissing the top of her hair tenderly. “If you really want this, Jughead is welcome to the position, he’s more than capable” she breathed a quiet laugh.

“I love you too Mom.”

\--

Betty pushed the door open to Pop’s, delighted at the immediate aromatic smell of freshly cooked fried foods invading her senses. She smiled at Pop Tate himself, standing behind the counter of his establishment proudly, as always. The elder man waved at her warmly, and gestured his hand to a booth to her right, where Jughead was typing lazily on his laptop, not having noticed at her yet. Betty offered Pop another smile before heading over to the table.

“Fancy some company?” Jughead’s head snapped up at the words spoken by a smooth lilting voice, happy for his eyes to land on Betty. He nodded, smiling slightly, which she returned enthusiastically, slipping into the other side of the booth. “What are you working on?” she asked curiously, nodding towards his laptop.

“Oh I’m not working on anything, just writing an email to Sabrina” he said shrugging, finishing his last lines on the email. **_Hope you don’t miss me too much, from J_** he pressed send and closed the laptop, meeting Betty’s eyes with a smile. “All done.”

“Sabrina? Is that your girlfriend?” Betty inquired, her eyes not quite meeting his.

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend… shocker” he muttered sarcastically. “Sabrina’s my friend, I just have the one, remember?” Betty’s head nodded, a look of realisation on her face, her face forming a small o shape.

“What’s she like?” she leaned back in the booth, resting her head on the wall beside her, looking at Jughead with a small smile.

“Like a hurricane, full force” he said, breathing a laugh while Betty chuckled quietly with him. “She could talk for hours and hours about nothing, she just likes rambling on, unlike me who would prefer not to talk and just writes instead.”

“Is that why you’re writing her emails instead of just calling?” Betty quizzed with a slight teasing tone in her voice.

“I worry that if I call I might never get her off the phone, she’s very interested in this whole situation. Uh, she’s actually part of the reason I’m here” he confessed nervously.

Her brow pinched in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“I mean I was planning to come back to Riverdale for the summer anyway, but I was worried I wouldn’t be welcome here and was sort of chickening out. Sabrina basically told me to get over myself and grow a pair of balls” Betty chuckled quietly at that. “She also bought my bus ticket…” he could feel Betty’s silent question dangling in the air, “I couldn’t afford it, money’s pretty tight.”

“She sounds like a good friend” she spoke softly, with a genuine smile resting on her lips.

“She is, she didn’t really want me to come, scared I won’t go back… but she did it anyway, wanted me to be happy I guess” Jughead wished he hadn’t said the first part as soon as the words left his lips. He wasn’t ready to talk about going back yet, he didn’t want to think about it yet and he anticipated Betty didn’t either. But his words floated in the air, adding an unspoken tension.

She excused herself after a moment to go order a drink, slipping quietly from the table to stand by the counter. As soon as her back was turned, Jughead buried his head in his hands, silently cursing himself for making things unnecessarily awkward. When she returned a few minutes later, Betty had smile plastered on her face that looked somewhat forced.

“Well, I talked to my mom” she started with a sigh, “and she’s willing to offer you a summer position at the Riverdale Register! It’s not anything extraordinary I’m afraid, but it’s something. It mostly involves some photocopying and basic filing but occasionally I get to help write a piece or edit it so it’s not all boring. If you don’t want to do it I understand…” she trailed off nervously, taking a sip of her drink.

“I’m in” he nodded enthusiastically, and smiled when Betty clasped her hands together grinning.

“Wonderful!” she chirped excitedly, “Oh and Juggie! Your writing!”

His face sank, suddenly nervous. Before he’d sent the email with his files to Betty, his finger had hovered over the ‘send’ button for a solid thirty minutes out of fear before Archie had gotten frustrated and pressed it himself, resulting with a hard shove to his chest from Jughead.

“Don’t look so nervous, Jughead!” she giggled, “I was astonished honestly, I would only tweak two, maybe three things. Otherwise it’s genuinely incredible work. My mom even described you as ‘more than capable’ which is a shining compliment from her, believe me it’s more than a lot of people get” her grin was wide and genuine again, an emotion akin to pride shining in her eyes.

Jughead laughed nervously, not used to praise for his work, not even used to sharing it. But as the night wore on, the way Betty was fiercely analysing the words he had written, telling him in detail her favourite parts, what she would change or how she would add something, made Jughead crave this kind of feedback in a way he never had before. Betty talked animatedly and endlessly and her passion for writing just radiated off her in waves. Her fierce enthusiasm was highly infectious, causing rare wide smiles to bloom on Jughead’s face. He couldn’t remember the last time he had spoken so much, so freely, with unfiltered thoughts as when he and Betty spoke about their love for the written word.

Afternoon was slowly dwindling and fading into evening, the light outside dimming but the conversation had yet to. They spoke about everything and anything, flowing between topics easily. At some point, he doesn’t remember when, Betty had returned from a trip to the bathroom and instead of sliding in to her previous spot, she had planted herself beside him. In their new proximity, words were spoken in hushed tones, falling only onto each other’s ears, secluded in their corner of the diner.

_“I’ve never felt like that before, it was the worst way to wake up every day… just not being able to feel anything.”_

_“I don’t remember the last time my dad was sober a full 24 hours… I’ve tried time and time again to get him to go to rehab but how can you help someone who doesn’t want to be helped?”_

_“I’m scared that Polly running away means that she won’t be a part of my life anymore and I’m not, um… I’m not ready to lose my sister.”_

_“My mom gets this look in her eye, like she can’t stand it anymore. Sometimes she looks at me and I swear it feels like she hates me, like she resents me.”_

Betty doesn’t know when the gap between them closed, but she’s practically tucked beneath the arm that’s slung across the back of the vinyl seat. Her breath sucks in when his hand brushes against hers accidentally, the smallest bolt of electricity ricocheting through her. They’re so close, sharing unspoken secrets and fears, that Betty can feel his breath lightly fanning her face when he speaks. Betty doesn’t understand how this unfamiliar situation can feel like the most natural thing in the world, how voicing the feelings she’s spent years avoiding saying aloud can come so easily now. Betty doesn’t know how it’s so simple to air her deepest fears, but all seems so uncomplicated in their secluded corner of the diner.

“Betty, believe me when I say there is nowhere else I want to be right now, _literally nowhere_ ” he whispered lowly, prompting Betty to breathe a laugh quietly, “but it’s getting late and I think we ought to head home.” Reluctantly, Betty nodded in agreement, shuffling across the booth and standing, stretching her limbs slightly. She tried desperately not to acknowledge how much colder her body felt now she wasn’t pressed into his side. “Did you drive here?” he asked, looking up at her, not yet standing.

“No, I walked from work” she shook her head regretfully, somewhat wishing she had driven, already shivering knowing how cold it would be outside.

“Looks like we’re walking then” he breathed, rising to his full height so he towered above Betty, looking down at her with a lopsided grin. He walked to the counter, fishing some dollar bills out of his wallet and holding them out across the surface, “Here Pop, thanks for having us.” The elder man politely shook his head at Jughead’s money, their food had already been paid for and they’d already provided him with a more than sufficient tip, “Come on, please take it Mr Tate. You’ve earned it.”

Reluctantly, Pop took the bills from Jughead’s hands, tucking them into a tip jar by the till. “He’s a good kid, this one” he chuckled to Betty, patting Jughead on the shoulder lightly. “Riverdale missed you Mr Jones” he said, smiling warmly at both teenagers.

Jughead’s gaze dropped from Pop, laughing quietly in his modesty. When his eyes flitted back upwards, they met with Betty’s, she was so startled by how they were ablaze with such a clear shade of blue. His wide grin settled into a wistful smile, just letting his eyes roam Betty’s face peacefully. After a few moments, he whispered “Yeah I missed it too.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I love reading your comments so please leave me one!


	14. I'll Remember You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead walk home from Pop's, sharing secrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I cannot tell you how happy I was when I woke up this morning to all your comments on the last chapter. I have had a large smile on my face all day. Prepare for another fluffy one. 
> 
> I feel like I could have made this chapter longer, but I liked how it ended, I didn't want to add anymore, I hope you agree.

**Now:**

“When’s the last time you laughed until you cried?” Betty asked as they lazily walked through the streets of a sleeping Riverdale. It was blissfully quiet, it felt like they had the world to themselves.

“Yesterday afternoon, Archie got food poisoning from his own undercooked pancakes. He was so angry that I wasn’t spewing my guts up like him” Jughead shook his head laughing, remembering his friend’s furious expression, before it had disappeared back into the toilet. “I’ve got a stomach made of steel” he jested with a grin. “Who was your first kiss?”

“Archie, he was dared to do it. A cruel prank on me by Cheryl, she knew I liked him and wanted to torture me” she muttered sadly, nibbling her lip slightly while she recalled how much that malicious trick had hurt her. Of course, the part of her that had a crush on him, had wanted Archie to kiss her, but not like that, not when he was forced to. When she looked up to see her sad expression mirrored on Jughead, she smiled slightly. “Don’t worry, I don’t like him anymore, that passed a long time ago. I’m finally free” she breathed a laugh quietly. “Cat or dog person?”

“Dog” he replied instantly, without a single second of hesitation, looking at her like it was obvious.

“Oh thank god, good answer” Betty chuckled, relieved that Jughead answered ‘correctly’. He smiled with her.

“What’s the easiest way to make you smile?” he asked quietly, eyes focused on the way Betty’s lips were twisted into a grin. She looked away for a moment, feeling self-conscious under his intense gaze. She wasn’t sure how to answer that question.

“I guess that’s a tough one, there aren’t many things that don’t make me smile… The sun in the sky, warming my skin or the pattering of rain outside my window. Hearing my friends laugh, or making my mom smile. Doing the things that I love or finding new things to try…” she whispered nervously, watching her feet pace the pavement where they walked slowly. Her eyes found their way back to meet Jughead’s, “I guess when you spent as long as I did feeling nothing, or feeling way too much… You try and find lots of reasons to smile.”

She didn’t speak for a few moments, thinking about her own words. It was a comfortable silence, the both of them just enjoying the peaceful night air washing over them. Betty tried to summon a question for Jughead, to continue the asking game they had started since leaving Pop’s, but was falling short of an idea. She looked up at his face, observing how he seemed as lost in thought as she was, just staring at the ground in front of him. She was suddenly so thankful for the hours they had shared together that day, feeling like she knew him better than he ever had.

“What will you remember about today?” her question, spoken in a soft whisper, pulled him from the depths of his thoughts. When his eyes connected with hers, so fiercely green, he could think of many things he would remember.

( I will remember the way your hand brushed against mine and the way it set my body on fire. )

( I will remember how we shared secrets in a corner of Pop’s and how it made my heart feel lighter. )

( I will remember learning more about you than I have ever thought possible. )

( I will remember cursing myself for staying away for so long.)

( I will remember how you’ve smiled at me and how it makes my heart pound inside my chest. )

( I will remember wondering if this is what it feels like to fall in love. )

“I’ll remember you” he settled on, muttering the most honest answer he could share softly into the silence of the night. Jughead desperately didn’t want this night to end, he wanted to linger in this solitude with Betty for a while longer, but he knew they were moments from reaching the turn onto her and Archie’s street.

“I guess I’ll remember you too” she whispered back with a fluttering heart.

The walk along the street to their houses was spent in silence, heavy hearts mourning the end of their night. Jughead stopped regretfully, standing outside of Archie’s house. “I guess this is goodnight Betts” he murmured with a sad smile.

She stood in front of him, looking up with wide green eyes, trying desperately to summon some words, anything instead of drowning in the silence. When she couldn’t muster anything, she just stepped forwards and wrapped her arms around his torso.

It had been more than three years since Jughead had hugged Betty, but he couldn’t recall there being much difference in the way his heart pounded then to the way it was crashing against his ribcage now. He let his arms wrap around her petite frame, pulling her impossibly closer to him, shielding her body from the cold air of the night swirling around them. Jughead just wanted to stay there forever, to pause time so he could stay with Betty’s arms wrapped around him, her head resting lightly on his shoulder. He wanted to breathe in her smell, a mix of wonderful floral things, and to feel her warm body pressed against him. But all too soon, time carried on and Betty stepped away.

“Goodnight Jughead” she whispered in a hushed tone, slowly walking backwards towards her house, never breaking her gaze with Jughead. He wanted to follow her, to keep talking until the night faded into morning, to have the chance to see more of her breath-taking smiles. But he stayed where he was, in front of Archie’s house, staring into a pair of impossibly green eyes, until Betty turned to climb the steps of her porch. She fumbled with her keys for a minute, before pushing the door open and glancing over her shoulder one last time before stepping inside and closing the door. Regrettably, Jughead retreated to Archie’s house, slipping inside the house without a sound.

\--

Betty fell onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling with wide green eyes. She couldn’t remember a time where her heart was pounding as erratically as it was now. She was reeling from the events of the past few hours.

“Betty, you need to stop” she spoke to herself aloud, covering her face with her hands. “You’re not allowed to have a crush on Jughead” she whispered desperately sitting up and looking at her reflection in the mirror across the room. “Don’t ruin this for yourself, you just started being his friend” she told herself sternly.

And yet, her thoughts drifted to the undeniable feeling of safeness she had felt that evening. Not just being wrapped up in his embrace, where she felt more protected than she had ever felt before, but she had practically bared her soul to him tonight. Pouring so many secrets out of her should have made her feel vulnerable but it had been so easy. Far, far too easy.

And the way he looked at her, it made her heart melt, dripping into the lowest depths of her stomach. She didn’t know whether it was the absence of pity in his eyes when he looked at her, unlike everyone else for the past three years, or the look of understanding when she voiced her demons, making her feel like she wasn’t alone, for once. Or it could have been the adoration that shone all over his face, you’d have to be blind not to see it. Betty wasn’t even sure Jughead knew he was doing it, but he looked at her like she had hung the stars in the sky and it was wrong, _so wrong,_ how much she liked it. And if she was being honest with herself, Betty knew she had probably been returning his adoring gazes all night.

She slipped beneath the covers of her bed after she had shed her clothes and dressed in some loose pyjamas. Betty let her eyes flutter closed, whispering quietly to herself, “You do not have a crush on Jughead, when you wake up in the morning, all he will be is your friend.” She was just about to fall into a peaceful sleep, determined to follow her mantra, when her phone chimed signalling a new message.

 **Jughead:** Thank you for all of today’s memories. [00.45]

Betty knew her promise to herself had gone up in flames as she read and re-read his words but she couldn't care less, in fact she wanted to dance on its embers. Betty fell asleep with a smile on her face, Jughead’s words burned into the back of her mind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me a comment to make me smile <3 I love every single one of you.


	15. For The First Time In A Very Long While

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Core Four have a lovely little lunch at Pop's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for you my loves, a pretty quick update right? I don't have much better to do (I'm ill right now) and I'm excited to get on with the development, so I keep churning out the chapters.

**Now:**

Betty was nervously drumming her fingers on the table at Veronica’s apartment in the Pembrooke, too far consumed by her thoughts to concentrate on her friend’s chatter.

“It was alright for a while but now Archie’s starting to go all weird and distant and I’m just frustrated with that boy and his commitment issues… B, are you listening?” Veronica asked, snapping Betty away from her trance abruptly.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry” Betty breathed apologetically, looking at her friend now. “What were you saying? Something about you and Archie?” she inquired frantically, resting her chin in her hand.

“Oh it’s nothing you haven’t heard before to be honest” Veronica chuckled half-heartedly. “Are you okay B? Do I need to be worried?” she asked in a calm, soothing tone.

“No, no I’m fine…” Betty assured her, nodding to convince herself. “I’m, uh, I’m just nervous” she sighed, willing the lump in her throat to dissolve.

“What are you nervous about?” Veronica replied curiously.

“Uhhh…” Betty stammered, unsure whether she wanted to share her thoughts. Sighing, she gave in, deciding Veronica’s input couldn’t hurt. “Jughead’s starting his internship tomorrow” she said with a small smile.

“I don’t understand, I thought you were really excited about that. Why would you be…” Veronica trailed of as realisation dawned on her face, making her gasp exaggeratedly. “SHUT UP! You _like_ him!” Veronica didn’t have to wait for an answer, as Betty’s face blooming into a deep shade of scarlet confirmed all her suspicions. “Oh my gosh, I knew it. God, I swear to you, I told Archie this was going to happen, he didn’t believe me. Who’s laughing now you little shit?” Veronica rambled on excitedly.

“ _V!_ ” Betty shouted, prompting her friend to look at her. “ _Do not_ tell Archie” she said sternly, knowing it would definitely get back to Jughead somehow and she definitely could not handle that level of embarrassment.

“I won’t tell him, I swear” she vowed, tracing a small cross over her heart. “Okay so tell me everything” she leant forward, resting her elbows on the table between them and propping her chin on her hand, an eager glint in her eye.

“I don’t know whether I actually like him, it’s just a small crush…” she trailed off hesitantly. “I don’t know, we’ve just done a lot of talking recently and there’s just something about him…” Betty sighed, running her hand through her hair, which she was wearing loose of her ponytail in a rare instance.

“How is it that I still haven’t met him? He’s been here like nearly two weeks, right?” she asked with a furrowed brow. “Between being your best friend and semi-dating Archie, who he’s _living_ with, how can I not have met him?”

“I don’t know” Betty shrugged, not really having noticed this detail. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Veronica pick up her phone, fingers tapping on the screen hastily. “V, what are you doing?” she asked, her forehead creasing. Veronica held up a finger, silencing her as she pressed the phone to her ear.

“Hey Archiekins! How are you doing today?” she spoke into the phone after a couple of rings. “I’m good as well, thank you for asking… Fancy grabbing some lunch? Wonderful… Yes, Betty and I will meet you at Pop’s in 20 minutes… Oh didn’t I mention Betty would be joining us? Oh, well she will. Hey! How about you bring Jughead so she isn’t a third wheel? I know, it’s a great idea! I’ve been dying to meet him! Okay, see you in 20 Archiekins.” Veronica hung up the phone and smiled sweetly at Betty’s jaw had dropped open in shock.

“What just happened?” she breathed quietly, still quite stunned.

“What just happened is I have Archie wrapped around my little finger” She smiled triumphantly, “And we’re going to lunch so that I can meet Jughead and you can test the waters before he starts at the Register. It might help some of your nerves” she stared at Betty pointedly.

“You’re an evil genius” Betty muttered, laughing slightly under her breath. Though Veronica’s logic about easing her nerves in anticipation for the next day, it didn’t stop the pit of butterflies brewing in her stomach now.

Veronica must have seen the worry on her face because she reached a hand across the table and placed it on hers delicately. “Hey, it’s okay. We don’t have to go if you don’t want to… Sorry I should have asked, that was insensitive of me. Gosh Ronnie!” she scolded herself.

“No it’s alright, you’re right!” Betty reassured her with a gentle smile, squeezing her hand back, “You need to meet Jughead.”

“Anything I need to know before I do?” she smiled back.

“Don’t ask him about the hat, he’s worn it as long as I’ve known him and even I’m not sure why he wears it” she giggled lightly, noting the confused look on Veronica’s face. “Also, don’t ask why he’s called Jughead, trust me, the real one’s worse.”

“Who is this guy? Veronica asked with a tinkering laugh, not mockingly just thoroughly confused by Betty’s little clues.

Betty smiled to herself, thinking there was only one way to summarise him. Only one descriptor did him justice. She murmured quietly, “He’s Jughead Jones.”

\--

“Hey dude” Archie said, jogging slightly into the guest room, more realistically it was Jughead’s room, at least for the moment. “You hungry?” he asked with a boyish grin.

Jughead looked up from his laptop, sprawled out across the bed, to meet Archie’s eyes. “Yes…” he drawled out, eyeing his friend suspiciously.

“Cool, let’s go to Pop’s” Archie chirped enthusiastically.

“Oh thank god!” Jughead sighed, relieved. When Archie looked at him with a confused expression, he returned with a shit-eating grin, “I thought you were gonna offer to cook.”

“You little shit!” Archie shouted, looking for something to throw at him. When he failed to find something, he just walked up and punched Jughead’s shoulder hard.

“Dude, you’ve only just removed your head from the toilet as a result of your cooking, my fear was justified” Jughead rolled off his bed, laughing at his friend.

“Yeah you might be right” Archie shrugged with a slight chuckle. “Still don’t appreciate the attitude” he said, shooting a pointed look in Jughead’s direction. “Come on, we’ll be late” he announced, heading for the door

Jughead froze, frowning. “How can we be _late_ to Pop’s? Who are we meeting?” he asked, puzzled, grabbing Archie’s shoulder so he turned to look at him.

“Oh!” Archie looked surprised at this question. “We’re meeting Betty and Ronnie, thought I’d mentioned that” Archie shrugged, turning for the door again.

“Ah, shit…” Jughead bounced on his toes nervously. He wondered whether he should change, maybe just comb his hair. He wanted to look a little presentable if he was seeing Betty. Instead, he was just slightly pacing the room and internally freaking out.

Archie was leaning in the doorway, watching his friend with a frown. “Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?” he yelled, pulling Jughead from his thoughts.

“I have literally no clue. Why are my palms sweating?” he chattered anxiously. A knowing smile graced Archie’s lips.

“Ah, so this is about Betty…” he chuckled. “Dude come on, let’s just go. She’s seemed to like whatever you’ve been doing up until this point so I’m sure it’ll work itself out” he walked towards Jughead, patting him on his back lightly, guiding them out of the door. “Come on, we really are gonna be late.”

\--

“Betty, will you stop fiddling? Gosh you’re making me nervous just looking at you” Veronica pleaded from beside her. “Calm down and all will be well” she assured in a soothing voice.

“I think I’m going to go to the bathroom real quick” Betty announced skittishly, slipping from the booth before her friend had the chance to reply. She rushed inside the empty ladies room, shutting the door behind her and leaning against it with a heavy exhale. After a few more deep breaths, Betty made her way to the mirrors propped against the wall, staring into her own panicked eyes reflected back at her.

“Calm down Betty” she whispered to herself, leaning her hands on the side of the sink, drooping her head and taking a few shaky breaths. She considered tying her hair back into a ponytail for some security, some familiarity, but that idea quickly faded when she realised she didn’t have a hair-tie. Her hair was usually always fastened securely before she left the house, there had never been a reason to carry a spare. Looking back up again, she plastered a smile on her face experimentally. “Yeah, I can do this” she smiled triumphantly, striding out of the bathrooms with a newfound confidence. Her spirit faded quickly when her eyes landed on the booth she and Veronica had sat at.

When they had arrived, Veronica had promised that she would sit next to Betty, in an attempt to cool some of her nerves. However, while she had been in the bathroom, the boys had arrived and Archie had slipped in beside Veronica. Of course, Jughead sat opposite them on the other side of the booth. As Betty approached the booth warily, Veronica looked up, meeting her gaze. “Hey B!” she smiled, shooting her an ‘I’m sorry’ with her eyes. Betty smiled, letting her know it was okay. Her eyes trailed down, noticing Archie had intertwined his fingers with Veronica’s under the table and Betty’s smile widened into something a little more genuine. Without saying a word, she lowered herself into the seat beside Jughead, offering him a shy smile, which he returned.

“Hi” he whispered, probably not loud enough for Archie and Veronica to hear, engaged in their own light conversation on their side of the booth.

“Hey” Betty bit down on her lip lightly while she smiled back at him sheepishly. Jughead hated it when she did that, he didn’t need reminding how full and inviting her soft pink lips were. He allowed his eyes to roam her face, unashamed of being caught staring. He only wanted to appreciate the beauty of Betty Cooper’s features, framed by a pretty outline of loose golden locks.

Betty turned away from him slightly, unable to withstand the heat of his gaze on her, catching Veronica’s eyes flitting between her and Jughead excitedly. Archie seemed oblivious to Veronica’s enjoyment, just chatting on unaware.

A waiter approached the table, taking their orders with an enthusiastic smile. Archie chuckled slightly when he left the table. “You ever gonna order something other than a burger, Jug?” he asked shaking his head.

“Hey, _no one_ in Toledo makes a burger like Pop’s” he proclaimed exaggeratedly. “Besides, I never know when will be my last meal when you’re feeding me, gotta savour the good things in life while I can, you know?” he cast a sarcastic smirk in Archie’s direction.

“I figured if I poisoned you it would shut you up” Archie bantered, “no such luck yet. Besides, you’re no Gordon Ramsey yourself dude!”

“Hey!” Jughead laughed defensively, “I think you’ll find I cooked us up a very handsome frozen pizza the other day, you were just too busy chucking up to appreciate it! Remind me, how did you get sick Archie?”

Veronica and Betty were just looking between the two boys, catching each other’s eyes and bursting into a fit of giggles. “We get it! Neither of you can cook and are seriously pissed off about it!” Veronica jested, covering her mouth while she laughed.

“You can’t either” Archie pointed out, shooting a playful glare down at her.

“And I’ve accepted that Archiekins” she stated matter-of-factly. “Besides, Betty is probably a better cook than all three of us put together, I just eat her food.”

Archie nodded in agreement at Veronica’s words, causing Betty to break out into a light blush.

“You cook Betts?” Jughead asked, glancing towards her with a small smile on his lips. She shrugged modestly, but apparently that wasn’t acceptable.

“She’s seriously amazing, Jughead” Veronica insisted. “One taste of Betty’s homemade chocolate chip cookies and everything store-bought since has tasted like garbage” she gushed excitedly.

Jughead leaned back in his seat, draping his arm along the back off the booth, dangerously close to falling across Betty’s shoulders. “Oh yeah?” he looked down at Betty with raised eyebrows. It only made her heart beat slightly faster than what was normal.

“Maybe I’ll make them sometime” she shrugged, looking back at him with a timid smile.

“I would be a very happy guy if you did Betty” he murmured, “you know how I love my food.”

“Yeah but I don’t know where you put it all!” she laughed, teasing him. She really had been wondering how he maintained such a lean physique with a diet like he claimed he had. Not that she had any complaints about his slender but muscular body type, hidden beneath way too many layers of fabric.

“My PE coach is a bitch, let’s put it like that” he jested, delighted at how Betty chuckled at his words. Jughead couldn’t fight this surging feeling of pride he got whenever he managed to prompt that beautiful laughing sound out of Betty. The melodious giggles falling from her lips somehow sounded even sweeter when Jughead knew he had caused them.

“You stay here much longer and Archie’s going to have you on a training programme” Veronica chimed in jokingly, but Archie’s eyes widened in excitement at the proposition.

Jughead caught Archie’s hopeful look, furiously shaking his head. “No, Archie, no! It’s not gonna happen” he affirmed sternly, growing more and more nervous the wider Archie’s grin grew. The whole table bustled with laughter at the terrified look on Jughead’s face.

Eventually, a casual chatter formed again between the four of them, a seemingly incompatible group of unlikely friends. When their food came, they ate appreciatively, with only a few jokes about Archie’s cooking being tossed between them playfully. While the conversation bubbled and flowed easily, Betty had found her mind wondering to the question she had asked Jughead a few nights earlier.

‘What will you remember about today?’

Betty wasn’t naïve: she knew when she looked back, she wouldn’t be able to pinpoint and describe what they talked about, she wouldn’t be able to re-tell the jokes. It was foolish to pretend that she would remember everything. But she was certain she would recall the unrestrained joy, she would remember what a glorious sound it was to hear the blend of laughter between three of her most favourite people. She hoped it wouldn’t be the last time they’d do this, but she would always remember the very first time she sat with three of her best friends in a booth in Pop’s and laughed until she cried, for the first time in a very long while.

And for the first time in a very long, Betty felt a truly peaceful, blissful, unburdened happiness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I love reading your comments, so please leave me some <3


	16. Welcome To The Register!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead starts work at the Riverdale Register

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bitch to edit, maybe I just have rubbish concentration today, but I was really frustrated. I don't love the ending either but oh well! Hope y'all enjoy

**Now:**

So far, Jughead figured his first day at the Register was going pretty well. It seemed like Alice had _almost_ smiled when he’d turned up with a tray-full of fresh coffees, and a shy grin. It felt like Hal had _almost_ convinced her to stop glaring at him across the room upon his arrival. He tried to take it all in his stride, well aware of the plenty reasons she had to be mad at him, plus Betty had warned him that Alice would put up a scary exterior. On the plus side, it being a busy Monday morning meant that Alice and Hal had been too occupied with their own work to show Jughead the ropes themselves, meaning that task had fallen to Betty.

“Welcome to the Register!” she sang enthusiastically as they began their little tour of the offices. “It’s all pretty simple for now” she sighed. “This is the printer and photocopier, get acquainted because you and I are best friends with this machine” she smiled at him warmly. “Unfortunately, it’s a bitch and jams as often as it pleases, when it does that you open… this drawer” she said pulling open one of its many side compartments, “and try and sort it out, if that doesn’t work you can just ask me. Got it?”

“Uh… yeah I think so” he nodded along with his words.

“That’s great!” she chirped with a bright smile. “Follow me.”

“How are you so cheerful this early in the morning?” he asked, exhausted just watching her, Betty just giggled quietly in reply. She opened a door to a large back room, filled with cabinets and drawers.

“This is the Archive room, it’s where we keep all the previous issues of the Register” she drifted into the room. “I keep insisting to them that with computers and the internet that we could save a lot of storage, but I guess Mom and Dad like having a hard copy.” She pulled open the first cabinet along the wall, dainty hand searching for one newspaper in particular. She walked over to Jughead, placing the paper in his hands delicately. “That… is the very first issue of the Riverdale Register” she breathed with a smile.

“Wow… that’s pretty brilliant” Jughead laughed lightly, turning the paper in his hands.

“Yeah… Come on, I’ll show you the filing system.” It was pretty simple, organised by year and by month in the cabinets, but one detail about her explanation really had him flustered. Betty had been grabbing some from the shelves for him to practice filing away. He had to swallow hard when she reached for the top shelf and her top rode up slightly, allowing him to see the tiniest sliver of exposed skin, a deep blush rushed to his cheeks at the sight. He couldn’t meet her eyes when she handed him the files, gaze nervously flitting around the room. “You okay, Juggie?” she asked, confused.

“Yep, I’m fine! Just gonna file these away!” he spluttered rushing to the shelves, anxiously. Betty just stared after him in confusion.

\--

After a few days, it seemed that Hal was warming to the presence of having Jughead in the office. Betty observed her father was probably most thankful that the much younger man was happy to take on some of the heavy-lifting tasks, such as when a fairly substantial delivery of stationary stock had arrived, and Jughead had offered to carry and store away all the boxes. Betty had also been very grateful Jughead had taken on this task, as she pretended not to stare appreciatively at the way the muscles in his arms flexed in his t-shirt as he pushed boxes onto the higher shelves, hiding behind her computer screen.

Alice, thus far, had not shared her husband’s appreciation for Jughead at the office, still bound by her own prejudices against him. But she had largely switched to an indifference for him, rather than a distaste, which was much more preferable. Betty guessed it had something to do with the genuine enthusiasm Jughead was presenting, no matter how many tedious tasks he had been assigned, just completing each one quickly and efficiently. She figured it would be tough to stay mad at someone who was trying so hard, she certainly hadn’t managed.

Betty herself had been lucky enough to do some writing, a fairly dull piece about a small and fairly unpopular café in the town closing down due to health violations, but she was sure she was having a better time than Jughead. He had currently been standing over the printer for quite some time, scratching his head slightly with a thoroughly creased brow. Betty glanced away from her computer, “You okay, Juggie?” she called to him softly.

“Uh, yeah…” he responded gruffly. “Actually no, I think it’s jammed again. I tried what you showed me but it’s not working” he sighed, defeated.

Betty pushed herself from her chair, strolling over to the machine, looking at its small screen curiously. “It’s not jammed, it’s out of ink. Do you know where the cartridges are in the stockroom?”

“Uh no, I don’t think I saw them” he rubbed the back of his neck slightly.

“That’s okay, I’ll show you where they are” without thinking, Betty grabbed Jughead’s hand and started pulling him towards the stockroom. Once she had realised what she had done, feeling the tingles shooting up her arm from his touch, she dropped his hand like a hot stone. Her face flushed with heat and she was thankful she was ahead of Jughead so he couldn’t see, too embarrassed to check his response to her actions. Once they reached the small room, she slipped inside, beckoning Jughead to follow her. She had never been in the stockroom with another person, so she hadn’t anticipated how little space there would be, their bodies were way too close. Betty could feel the warmth of Jughead’s body, so close to hers but not quite touching.

“They’re just there” Betty whispered, picking up one of the ink cartridges from the shelf in front of her. When she turned towards the door, Jughead was staring down at her with an intense, concentrated look on his face. Her breaths got slightly more shallow as his eyes continued to rake over her face, an energy she couldn’t quite place was alight in his fiercely blue orbs. They swirled with colour like the sky before a storm.

“Juggie?” she whispered lowly, she could feel her face heating with the intensity of his stare and her heart was beating wildly inside her chest. “What is it?”

He didn’t speak for a moment, still enamoured in his trance. She could have sworn he was looking at her lips and her stomach lurched in anticipation. Their faces were only a mere foot apart, it wouldn’t take much to lean forward and press his lips to hers. But instead of closing the gap, Jughead shook his head suddenly, looking like he had just woken up. He laughed slightly, “Nothing, sorry, don’t know what happened there” he rambled anxiously, quickly stepping backwards, exiting the stockroom and holding the door open for Betty.

She felt like she had a bucket of ice tipped over her. She stepped out of the stockroom and mumbled nervously, “Uh don’t worry about the printer I’ll sort it” and ran off without waiting for a response. She fumbled with the machine for a few minutes, until the whirring of papers being printed started up again. Quickly, she rushed through the offices, calling over her shoulder “Mom I’ll be back in 10 minutes, I just need to make a quick phone call!”

As soon as she pushed the door open, Betty inhaled a deep shaky breath of the cool, fresh air. She started walking in any random direction, pulling her phone from her pocket and hastily tapping on the screen, before pressing it to her ear.

“Hey B! You on lunch?” Veronica’s voice rang through the speaker after only a few seconds.

“No I’m not, I just ran from the office because I’m pretty sure Jughead tried to kiss me”

“OH MY GOSH!” Betty had to hold the phone away from hear at the sheer volume of Veronica’s shrieks. “What do you mean he tried to kiss you? Give me all the details B!”

“I don’t know whether he actually did, but he definitely looked like he was thinking about it” Betty nibbled on her bottom lip nervously.

“Did you want him to?” Veronica quizzed her curiously.

“Please stop enjoying this so much, I’m freaking out” Betty pleaded, frustrated at the volume of excitement Veronica’s tone was laced with.

“Don’t avoid the question” her friend muttered sternly.

“Yes” Betty murmured sheepishly. “Yes I did, I really, really did want him to. And then he just shakes out of this trance and acts like nothing had happened… Well I guess nothing really did happen but I don’t know what to do I’m so confused” Betty rambled, whimpering softly.

“Gosh, you two are so gone for each other it’s ridiculous” Veronica chuckled slightly through the phone.

“What do you mean?” Betty asked with a furrowed brow.

“You like him Betty, you like him a lot. It’s not just a crush, it’s real. And obviously, it doesn’t take a genius to see how into you Jughead is” she cooed soothingly through the speaker. “Don’t freak out, there will other opportunities. Just don’t spiral, okay B?”

Taking a shaky breath in, Betty glanced over her shoulder, landing on the offices in the distance. “Okay V, thanks for helping. Talk to you later” she sighed, hanging up the phone. She decided to stroll around for a few minutes longer to clear the swirling of unrelenting thoughts in her head, so she could go back to the office slightly calmer.

( Don’t think about how much you wish Jughead had kissed you. )

( Pretend it never happened. )

Betty wished she could wipe that, the briefest of moments, from her mind but it was playing on loop inside her head. The turbulent look in his eyes, the intensity of his stare, the proximity of his body to hers, just thinking about it was sending unfamiliar shivers down the length of her spine… She shook her head vigorously, hoping to shake out the intrusive thoughts, and turned around, heading back to the Register. While walking the short distance, she decided that she would try and stay away from Jughead for the rest of the afternoon, at least until she had calmed down enough to look him in the eye.

However, her plans were shattered when she crossed the threshold of the Register, eyes landing on Jughead Jones, sitting at her desk. He was looking at the screen of her computer, reading with a furrowed brow in concentration, chin rested on his hand. Betty observed that it was certainly not the worst look for him. She approached the desk hesitantly. “Jughead?” she called softly, he looked up at her with a warm smile. “What are you doing?” she asked, desperately trying to maintain a steady tone of voice.

“Hey Betts” he grinned, “Your mom said I could help you with the article you’re writing, I was just reading what you’ve got so far, it’s pretty good.” He rose from the chair, towering over her as usual “Here, have your seat back, I’ll go find another chair…” As Betty observed his cheerful mood, clearly no-where near as affected as she had been by the events earlier, she wondered if he had even realised what he did, how he looked at her. It would mean the ‘waking up’ look he got make a lot more sense. She sank back down into the chair with a sigh, just as Jughead arrived with another one for himself. “You don’t mind that I’m helping do you?” he asked while he set the chair down, casting a nervous glance towards her.

Betty studied his face briefly. He looked so excited, so hopeful, so happy to be writing, to be writing _with her_ she couldn’t help but shake her head, breathing a soft, “No. No of course not.” His grin was triumphant, dropping down into his chair, turning his gaze to the screen. Betty watched him for just a moment more before she followed suit. “It’s not a very exciting article, I know” she shrugged, “I don’t know the last time anyone even went to this café, so I’m not sure anyone will bother reading it.”

“Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it your all, Betts” he said absentmindedly, his eyes still scanning the screen quickly. “Ok, I think that sentence… that one right there” he said, pointing to a line of text on the screen, “needs a little rewording.” Betty just raised her eyebrows and pushed the keyboard in his direction.

“Have at it” she encouraged with a warm smile. He took it willingly, letting his fingers hover over the letters for a moment, thinking it over, before he started typing. Betty watched as his words appeared on the screen, admittedly in a much better arrangement than her own had been. “Yeah, that’s a lot nicer… Do you think maybe you could do this one as well?” she suggested, finger hovering over another sentence.

They continued working on the piece for a while longer, editing the part Betty had already written before going on to write the last few paragraphs. When they sent it off to Alice for editing, Betty turned in her chair to look at Jughead. “You’ve never written a newspaper article before, have you?” Betty asked him with a fond knowing smile.

He ducked his head slightly, breathing a small laugh, “Yeah, am I that bad?”

“No, you just… you write like an author” she explained simply. When Jughead frowned slightly, she assured him “That’s a good thing, don’t worry. Plus, I can give you a few tips on writing articles, it won’t take much doing.”

He leaned forward on the desk a little. “You do it a lot? Write articles?”

“I run my school newspaper, the Blue and Gold and I get to write small articles like this one for the Register every now and then.”

“Do you enjoy it?” he muttered softly, eyes latched onto her tenderly.

“I love it” Betty breathed delicately. “I really do.”

“It shows… I mean from what I’ve seen. You’re very good at it” Jughead rambled, somewhat nervously. He sighed, “I am honoured that your name will appear next to mine on my very first article.” He threw a charming boyish grin to her and she couldn’t resist but returning his smile enthusiastically.

Jughead’s phone chimed in his pocket, causing him to break their shared gaze, glancing at the words that had popped up on the screen. His eyes widened comically and Betty couldn’t help but laugh. “What is it?”

“Code red: Archie’s threatening to cook…” he held a hand up for dramatic effect, “on a barbecue!” He slumped onto the desk exaggeratedly, prompting a loud giggle from Betty, amused by his theatrics. His phone chimed again after a few moments and he lifted his head slightly to read it. “He says to invite you” he mumbled before flopping back down onto his arms.

“Sounds like fun” Betty chirped, quietly thankful her time with Jughead didn’t have to end as soon as she thought. “I’ll even supervise the cooking if it makes you feel you better” she joked lightly.

Suddenly, Jughead sat bolt upright, his arms held above him in celebration, “Hallelujah, we’re saved!”

“Come on, it’s time to clock out” still giggling at Jughead’s comical behaviour. “You want a lift back to Archie’s?”

“Sure, sounds good Betts” he said, pushing himself to standing, Betty quickly following suit. She grabbed her keys and her phone from her desk drawer, giving her mom and dad a small wave as they walked through the office. “Do you promise you’ll help Archie cook?” Jughead pressed, with a lopsided smile.

“Oh my gosh, leave him alone!” Betty laughed loudly as she pushed the door open and stepped into the street, tossing her head back slightly.

“Nope, never again.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've already started writing the barbecue... should be fun ;) 
> 
> Let me know what you thought, thanks my loves! <3


	17. Goodnight Juggie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Core four have a barbecue at the Andrews house

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have near-crippling insomnia so it's 4am right now and I've been writing/editing this for a couple of hours. Please forgive any mistakes!
> 
> I'm not gonna lie, this chapter is probably gonna frustrate a lot of you, please don't hate me!

**Now:**

Jughead couldn’t tell you the name of the upbeat pop song that was drifting through the Archie’s backyard, and he frankly didn’t care to find out but he was certainly more than thankful that it was playing. He was currently watching Betty dancing playfully with Veronica and Archie, gently swaying her hips to the music, smiling and laughing as Archie ungracefully moved his body. Jughead had chosen to pass on joining in, electing instead to savour the truly beautiful sight of Betty, carefree and dancing in front of a setting sun. Her eyes, glowing with happiness, landed on his from where she was a few feet away.

“You’re not dancing Jug?” she drawled playfully, lazily strolling towards him.

“I’m watching the food” he replied gruffly, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the barbecue which he had definitely not been checking.

“Come on, come and dance!” she pleaded, a far too inviting smile on her face.

“I don’t dance Betty!” he breathed a laugh, insisting. Betty however, apparently did not accept this. Jughead tried not to react when her hand closed around his, for the second time that day, causing a spike in his heart rate. She started pulling him gently away from the barbecue, a mischievous smirk on her face. He shook his head down at her, with a traitorous smile on his face but she only nodded in response, biting back a large smile of her own. When a new song started playing through the speakers, Betty began gently swaying her body, her head drifting freely, raising her arms slightly so Jughead’s hand, still interlaced with hers, had no choice but to move. He let her dance gently, but made no effort of his own to participate.

She moved her body a little closer to his, raising onto her tiptoes so she could whisper in his ear “You’re not dancing Jughead.” Her breath brushing against his skin was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, both delighted and cursing the little distance between them and the low whisper of her voice. He had a suspicion she was doing this on purpose.

“I told you Betts, I don’t dance” he said, fighting back the smile. “How many beers have you had?”

“A few” she shrugged. “Pleeeeease” she continued, pouting with wide green eyes. Jughead sighed dramatically, lifting their joined hands above Betty’s head so she could twirl underneath, giggling delightedly as she did. “Thank you Juggie” she chuckled again.

“Okay, I think we really ought to check on the food” Jughead sighed, as unsurprisingly, Archie had lost interest in actually cooking at his barbecue, leaving Jughead to try and salvage it, but mostly the task had fallen on Betty. He retreated to the barbecue, pulling Betty with him. Reluctantly, he let go of her hand, so she could grab the utensils and turn the various burgers and hot dogs over. “Of course Archie would make other people cook at his own barbecue” Jughead muttered moodily, vaguely aware that he hadn’t really been doing much to help either, mostly just standing next to Betty while she handled it.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind” she glanced up with a small smile. “Besides, he’s pretty happy right now and I wouldn’t want to disturb that” she nodded in the direction of Archie and Veronica, who were chatting happily, their hands intertwined between them.

“Does that ever bother you?” Jughead asked quietly, not quite sure why the words had fell from his lips. She was quiet for a moment, turning the food on the grill, seemingly lost in thought.

“It used to…” she admitted, with a sad smile. “When they first got involved, I’m not sure I was completely over Archie, no matter how much I wanted to be, so it was a little tough. Veronica actually stepped back when she found out how I felt…” her voice was quiet, clearly deeply embarrassed by the story. “But she really, really liked him and Archie was equally head-over-heels. Once I realised I was the thing getting in the way of their happiness, over a half-hearted and fading _crush,_ I really quickly snapped out of it. It was a little weird at first, but I got over it. Now, it doesn’t matter to me at all, I support them for the most part” she insisted, meeting his eyes. “Hopefully this time they’ll actually stay happy.”

“They’ve been like this before?” he asked curiously, observing their mutual affectionate glances and adoring stares. Since he’d been back, this was really the only version of the couple he’d seen, with the exception of Archie’s jealousy at the party, but Betty had informed him that it wasn’t always so blissful and uncomplicated.

“Every other month” she replied, with a sad smile on her lips. “V insists that their good phases are worth all the heartbreak.”

“Man, I couldn’t do that” he sighed, “I mean, shouldn’t it be simpler than that?”

“I would hope so… but I have little experience to compare it to” she said with a weak shrug, a small silence settling between them.

“On a happier note, the food’s done!” Betty announced cheerfully after a few minutes, scooping burgers off the barbecue and stuffing them into buns, piling them on a plate. Jughead grinned gratefully, picking up some of the plates and sauces they’d grabbed from inside earlier and made his way over to Archie and Veronica, placing them on the small outdoor table. He planted himself on one of the empty lounge chairs, folded out to make a longer flat seat, Archie and Veronica occupied the other one opposite him, a few other single patio chairs placed around them. When Betty approached, Archie grabbed one of the burgers from the plate she was carrying, biting into it eagerly.

“Careful, that’ll be hot” Betty giggled, well aware it was too late for her warning, while Archie cursed and squirmed. Betty placed the rest down. “Dig in everyone” she encouraged with a smile, picking a few things up for herself. Jughead was surprised when Betty swept past the other chairs, planting herself down on the lounge seat next to Jughead, looking at him with a warm smile.

While they ate, an easy chatter forming between the four of them, Jughead had noticed the way that Betty had gradually moved closer to him. He didn’t even know if she was doing it consciously, but every few minutes, she shifted just a few inches so the gap between them on the lounger was a little smaller. When she physically shivered, he figured she’d been doing it to try and gain a little warmth from his body, the cold air settling over them as the sun disappeared from the sky.

“You okay, Betty?” he asked softly.

“Yeah I’m fine, it’s just getting a little cold out here that’s all” she said with a tight-lipped smile, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing slightly.

“Oh!” Archie shouted suddenly, having noticed Betty’s chill. “I’m gonna make a fire!” he jumped up from his seat, walking towards the shed before returning with a small transportable fire pit and some wood. “Stay away Jug, we don’t want another ‘accident’” Archie shot a smirk in his friend’s direction.

Betty gasped loudly, turning to Jughead and grabbing his forearm. “I forgot about that!”

“Forgot about what? What accident?” Veronica chimed in, observing in the amused glances between the old friends, with the exception Jughead who looked less amused and rather pissed off instead.

“Jughead almost burned down our elementary school” Archie announced grinning, kneeling on the ground and starting to assemble the wood for a fire.

“I didn’t burn it down, you ass” Jughead grumbled moodily in Archie’s direction. “And it was an accident!” he called defensively.

“What did you do? How did you accidentally set a school on fire?” Veronica asked with a warm laugh, eyes alight with curiosity.

“Oh V, it’s actually pretty sweet” Betty cooed, squeezing Jughead’s arm lightly where her hand still rested, shooting him a small smile. He was really loving all the casual touches she had started introducing…

“Jughead wanted to bring Betty a birthday cake” Archie started with a smirk, pulling out a small box of matches. “But little ol’ Jug wasn’t quite as good with matches as he figured. He managed to light the candles, but in his celebration, he might have dropped the match onto the carpet and started… a fire!” he yelled as the wood in front of him started dancing with flames as he dropped the match into the kindling, smiling triumphantly. Betty gigged lightly at her red-headed friend’s dramatics, seeing how they were irking Jughead beside her.

“Seriously?” Veronica asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at Jughead questioningly.

“He might be right about that part” Jughead mumbled. “But it was all handled very efficiently, it was put out very quickly, minimal damage…” he continued. “No one was hurt, that’s all that matters! Can we move on please?”

“Sure buddy. Anyone want another drink?” Archie offered, rising from the floor, satisfied with how the fire was burning. Veronica and Betty both nodded in reply. “Jug?”

“Just a water will do thanks” he responded. Archie nodded before disappearing inside the house.

Betty was trying to summon the will to remove her hand from where it was planted on Jughead’s forearm, but even with added heat of the fire, she still felt a pull attracting her to the warmth of his body. Though she suspected that had more to do with the fluttering of her heart rather than the slowly fading chill in her body. Regretfully, she dropped her hand, placing it on the lounger between them.

“So Jughead?” Veronica called, prompting Jughead to look at her expectantly. “How are you liking work at the Register?” Betty’s eyes narrowed at her friend, remembering the details she had shared with Veronica about the ‘almost-moment’ back in the storage closet.

“It’s been alright.” He glanced slightly towards Betty, smiling at her fondly, “Yeah, actually it’s been pretty great.” Betty could feel the blush creeping onto her cheeks, turning away slightly so her gaze caught Veronica’s. She was shooting Betty a knowing and when she was sure Jughead wasn’t looking, she mouthed ‘he likes you’ excitedly.

“I bring blankets and beer!” Archie shouted, bursting through the backdoor, holding the said items up. Jogging down the steps, he threw a plastic bottle at Jughead, “And water for Jug.” Archie draped one of the blankets across Veronica’s shoulders, evidently proud of himself when she shot him an adoring glance and tossed the others towards Betty and Jughead.

“Arch!” Betty yelled sternly, pulling him out of his gaze with Veronica, who he’d sat down next to, “Mind the fire!”

“Sorry Betty” he said as he leant across, passing her a bottle of beer. She took it, taking a small sip and placing it carefully at her feet before she grabbed one of the blankets that had fallen on the floor, draping it over both her and Jughead’s laps in an experimentally bold move. He looked a little surprised, but mercifully, he didn’t say anything, just pulling the blanket over him further.

She swore she had nearly leapt off the seat when a while later, Jughead’s hand brushed against hers underneath the blanket. Betty didn’t know why the faintest of touches was sparking electricity in her, she had held his hand properly _multiple times_ already that same day. She also couldn’t work out whether he had meant to do it or whether it was merely an accidental bump, as his eyes stayed latched onto Archie, listening to him talk. However, Betty could no longer concentrate on her friend’s chatter, instead choosing to study the side of Jughead’s face, illuminated beautifully by the flickering orange flames. She blamed the slight buzz from the beer for why she was so unashamed to let her gaze roll over his face so obviously. She was fascinated by the smoothness of his skin, speckled with tiny constellations of little dark moles, the way he had such long eyelashes, draped over eyes that shone so blue even in the dim light, the fullness of his lips which she had been so close yet so far from kissing just hours earlier.

When his thumb brushed over her hand again, Betty decided that he must be doing it on purpose and slipped her hand into his, letting their fingers tangle together. She watched as Jughead dropped his focus on Archie for a moment, smiling faintly and stroking his thumb along the back of her hand softly. She averted her gaze back to the fire, acknowledging how her hand continued to tingle every time Jughead swiped his thumb over the skin there. She concluded, lost in her thoughts, that when she was with Jughead, it wasn’t sparks flying, just fleeting moments of attraction. No, instead it was a roaring, blazing fire; long-lingering and burning down all the walls of defence she had built up. While she sat there, feeling him cradle her hand so gently, she couldn’t find it in herself to care: she wanted to watch her defences burn down to ashes, if it meant trading it for this.

Betty looked up when Archie stood abruptly, or maybe it wasn’t sudden at all and she’d just been too far consumed with her thoughts of Jughead to notice. “I think I’m gonna head to bed” he announced casually. “Thanks for cooking Betty, it was delicious.”

“No problem Arch” she breathed a laugh, as he waved slightly to Jughead and herself. Jughead’s gaze landed on Veronica with a frown, obviously confused as to why Archie hadn’t said goodbye to his girlfriend (or pretty-much girlfriend). Betty noticed Jughead’s confused expression, leaning in so her lips were agonisingly close to his ear. “She’s going to wait there a few minutes… then she’s going to make an excuse about needing to go inside… and then she’ll sneak into Archie’s room” she whispered slowly, a smile gradually forming on Jughead’s face as her explanation filled his ear.

Sure enough, a couple of minutes later, Veronica rose from her seat, brushing off her clothes slightly. “Well I think I’ll head off too. I’m just going to go use the bathroom, then I’ll go home” she muttered, not meeting their eyes.

“Okay V, see you soon” Betty dared breath a small laugh at her friend’s unsubtle excuse and her predictability, not bothering to comment on it.

“Goodnight B, night Jughead” she threw over her shoulder as she walked towards the house.

“See you in the morning Veronica” Jughead said with a sly smirk, just before she slipped inside the house, shooting him a glare for half a second before she did. Betty giggled at his words, dropping her head onto his shoulder, still clasping his hand beneath the blanket.

“She’ll be angry at you for that” she laughed into his shoulder.

“Why? I only speak the truth” Jughead mused with a small chuckle of his own.

“V isn’t a fan of smart-asses unless it’s her” she replied, lifting her head and grinning at him widely, “I thought it was funny.”

Jughead couldn’t ever stop himself from looking at Betty, he didn’t know that he even wanted to. There was something so beautiful about the way she looked up at the sky with pure wonder, whispering “Wow Juggie, look at the stars.” He did as she said, following her gaze to look at the clear sky above them, littered with a huge abundance of stars.

“That’s pretty incredible” he admitted with a sigh, finding his own fascination growing as his eyes skimmed the night sky, free of any clouds inhibiting their view.

“I’ve always loved the stars” Betty sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder again, keeping her focus on the fiery orbs above them.

“I remember” he whispered simply, recalling all the times Betty would make him stay awake in the treehouse in his old backyard, so they could spend all night staring up at the sky, with a brilliant of the stars. Instead of learning the actual names of the constellations, they had always made up their own. Pointing up at the sky, he softly murmured “That one’s called the ‘Betty’ because it’s in the shape of a smile.”

She laughed, clearly remembering the familiar practice. Her eyes scanned above her, before pointing to another area, “That one, you see it? There, that one’s the ‘Jughead’ because it’s shaped like a beanie.”

“Hey” he chuckled. “That looks nothing like my hat!” he said, pulling on the item in question slightly, adjusting its place on his head.

“Yes it does! Look, it’s even got some of the crown bits” she defended enthusiastically, pointing and waving the hand that wasn’t holding Jughead’s tightly.

“Betts, come on! That looks nothing like it!”

“Fine, um… That one can be the ‘Jughead’ because it looks like a burger!” she suggested hopefully with a cheerful grin.

“You’re getting worse!” he groaned teasingly, bumping his shoulder with hers gently. Unable to hold off his gaze anymore, he looked down at Betty, sure that the sparkling green orbs staring back at him contained more stars than the entire sky above him. He observed that she was giving him _that_ smile again, the one that made his stomach do somersaults. Though admittedly, all of Betty’s smiles had his insides doing flips.

“It’s been a pretty long day” she sighed softly.

“It’s been a pretty long week” he laughed quietly in response. He had no idea why he always wanted to speak in whispers around her, even though there was no one around listening. He supposed Betty Cooper was a secret he didn’t feel like sharing.

“You survived your first week at the Register” she beamed at him, squeezing his hand in congratulations.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, literally.”

“I’m glad to have you there, it’s a lot more interesting” she confessed. It certainly was more interesting to watch Jughead around the office all day, but it definitely wasn’t doing any favours for her productivity, which had taken a steady decline. He just looked away from her sheepishly at her words.

After a moment, he looked back to her, noticing how her glittering green eyes hadn’t moved and remained locked on his face, staring at him deep in thought. The heat of her gaze burned much warmer than the embers of the fire beside them.

“I shoulder probably go home” she whispered thickly, her eyes locking on his.

“You probably should” he murmured, acknowledging that she had made no effort to move. For the briefest of moments, he allowed his gaze to flicker to her lips.

“Goodnight Jughead” his eyes rose to hers again, still rooted in her seat.

“Goodnight Betty” her hand slipped from his, but her gaze stayed locked in place.

She stared at him a few moments longer, before she shook herself out of her enamoured trance. She had been too far absorbed in his eyes, that she hadn’t noticed the way his breath had quickened, couldn’t hear how violently his heart crashed inside his chest, couldn’t see how they shared the same ideas. So instead, she pulled herself up from the chair.

“Goodnight Juggie” she breathed again, whispering faintly in to the quietness of the evening. “Thanks for all of today’s memories” she smiled, repeating the words he had sent her not too long ago, before turning and walking towards the gate bridging the Cooper’s and the Andrews’ backyards. She slipped through without another glance.

Jughead stood up, placing the lid on the fire pit. He tried to gather as many empty bottles as he could, picking up the blankets and trudging inside. He chucked the bottles in the bin, tossing the blankets across the back of one of the kitchen stools, deciding he or Archie could deal with it in the morning. He climbed the stairs, pushing his way into his bedroom. He quickly changed into some pyjama pants, falling into his bed with a heavy sigh.

“Why the fuck didn’t you kiss her?” he yelled to himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember it's slow burn!!! Don't hate me please! I love you all too much <3 
> 
> Leave me a comment :)


	18. I Stole Fred's Ladder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty experiences a dip in her mental health.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl, the amount of comments with 'the slow burn is killing me!!!!' on the last chapter made me laugh, sorry for teasing you my dears, hopefully this makes up for it. 
> 
> Warnings: depression

**Now:**

Jughead slumped back into the chair in the Andrews’ garage, watching while Archie lightly strummed a guitar lazily. He’d been spending the rainy Saturday afternoon on some catch up time with his friend, since working at the Register and hanging out with Betty had been cutting that time slim over the previous week, despite living with him.

“How are things going with Veronica?” he asked curiously, gently petting Vegas, Archie’s elderly dog, where he sat at his feet.

“Uh, it was alright” he shrugged, rubbing the back of his head slightly and a light blush covering his cheeks, noticing how Jughead frowned at his use of the past tense. “We may have got in a fight before she left this morning” he confessed, carefully setting the guitar down.

“Dude…” Jughead groaned in disbelief, throwing his head back against the chair. “Come on, really? I thought you were doing okay this time” he looked up at his friend expectantly.

“I know… it’s bad” he admitted gloomily, placing his head in his hands. “It was a stupid argument, pretty much just yelling for the sake of it.”

“Why do you keep doing this to her? To yourself?” Jughead questioned, genuinely confused by his friend’s relationship.

“Past experience proves that I’m not great at holding onto girlfriends… I guess I’m just not really good at relationships” Archie muttered glumly. “I thought I’d be better this time, ‘cause I really liked her… I still really like her. But somehow I just fuck it up without even trying” he kicked the leg of the chair in front of him in his frustration.

“Just talk to her man, without yelling at each other” Jughead offered with a slight sigh. “Sometimes just talking and being honest with each other goes a long way” he advised. Truthfully, it had worked for him, just being honest with Betty and listening to what she needed was the whole reason she was even talking to him, no longer afraid to spend time with him.

“Yeah, you might be right” he shrugged. “Anyway, what’s going on between you and Betty?” Archie quizzed with a smirk, waggling his eyebrows comically at his friend.

“There’s nothing going on with me and Betty” Jughead mumbled, knowing that wasn’t quite the truth, there was _something,_ but he didn’t really want to discuss it with Archie. What he shared with Betty felt private, something he could have all to himself.

“Come on bro, I saw you guys getting all cosy last night” Archie continued, slipping from his chair and crouching down to stroke Vegas as the dog padded over to him. “Follow your own advice, just tell her how you feel, I’m sure you wouldn’t be disappointed” he suggested, looking up at Jughead from the floor.

Jughead didn’t say anything in response to Archie’s proposal, just leaning back in the armchair, placing his hands on either side. Unfortunately, he could still feel Archie looking at him expectantly, apparently unwilling to drop the subject. When he realised Jughead wasn’t going to say anything, he piped up again, “I just don’t want you to go back to Toledo at the end of the summer with any regrets, bro.”

After a minute Jughead leant forward, resting his elbows on his knees and spoke up softly, “I just don’t want to hurt her more than I have to.” He’d been worrying more and more, the closer he and Betty got, that it was just going to leave a bigger scar on her heart when he had to leave again. Jughead knew he couldn’t confess his feelings to her when there was going to be distance between them far too soon.

“How do you know you’re not hurting her by not saying anything?” Jughead’s head snapped up at Archie’s words, eyes narrowing at the suggestion. Admittedly, it hadn’t been something he’d considered. “Just saying, Betty looks like she really likes you.”

“You’re smarter than you look Andrews” Jughead grumbled, while Archie smiled smugly at his minor victory. In truth, it had added a whole new level of complexity to Jughead’s hesitations.

( Thanks a lot Archie. )

\--

When Jughead had arrived at the Register on Monday morning, Betty wasn’t sitting at her desk. He hadn’t been concerned when he sent her a text earlier asking when she would be travelling to the offices, in hopes he could join her, and had gotten no reply. He’d just assumed she’d arrived with her parents, who always went in earlier than the two of them had to. Now, he tried not to worry too much, telling himself that she was probably just running late. Jughead strolled over to the desk that they’d sat at together and fell heavily into the chair with a sigh, logging onto the computer. He busied himself by looking over some of the articles Betty had saved on her computer, making notes that would hopefully help him improve, trying not to glance at the clock anxiously. Alice swept over to the desk about half an hour later, throwing a newspaper onto the desk.

“What’s this Mrs C?” he asked, picking up the paper and unfolding it, seeing it was today’s issue of the Register.

“I was very impressed by what you and Betty submitted. Check page 9” she announced with the slightest trace of a smile. Jughead did as she said, opening the paper and grinning widely when his eyes landed on their article.

**_Written by Elizabeth Cooper and Forsythe Jones III._ **

“Congratulations on your very first printed article, Jughead. I have a few more that I’d like you to get started on, independently this time” even Alice Cooper couldn’t resist smiling when she saw the jubilant expression on the young man’s face, so proud as he kept glancing over the writing.

“Thank you” he murmured, still slightly in awe of seeing his name printed in an actual newspaper, for the first time not really caring that he had been referred to as ‘Forsythe’.

“You’re more than welcome. Check your email, I’ve sent you some information for your new projects. I look forward to reading them” she encouraged coolly, beginning to turn away from the desk.

“Sure… Hey Mrs C?” he called, waiting for her to turn back around to face him. “Uh, where’s Betty today?”

For a moment, he saw a flicker of sadness flash across her eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. “She’s staying at home today, if you need any help you can ask myself or Mr Cooper” she replied, in her professional voice, once again starting to walk away from him, but Jughead wasn’t satisfied.

“Wait! Uh… is she okay?” he asked timidly, cursing himself for being so unrelenting, but the worry was starting to fester low in his stomach, eating at him from the inside.

Alice approached him once more, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder, looking down at him with a sad smile. “She’s having a bad day… It happens sometimes” she explained calmly, but he could see the anxiety behind her eyes.

“Bad day?”

“Some wounds take a while to heal” she alluded vaguely. “Don’t worry, it passes” she whispered, squeezing his shoulder slightly before she left him alone.

From what Alice had hinted at, Jughead guessed Betty was having some sort of low swing with her mental health and he couldn’t keep it off his mind. He was so worried about her, she’d confided in him about how difficult her depression was and how much those feelings scared her. While he started one of the articles Alice had sent him, carefully following her guidelines, he kept finding his mind straying to Betty. Battling with himself, he grabbed his phone from his pocket, pulling up their conversation, debating typing out a message.

**Hope you’re okay** _*deleted*_

**Are you okay?** _*deleted*_

**Do you want to talk?** _*deleted*_

Sighing, he locked his phone, placing it on the desk in front of him, deciding it was probably best left alone. Jughead imagined the whole reason she’d stayed at home was because she couldn’t manage dealing with people today, and that’s why she hadn’t said anything to him. He left the phone where it was, turning back to the computer screen and continuing to type his article. Once he’d done a couple of paragraphs, his train of thought drifted back to his internal conflict, recalling a hushed whisper she’d breathed in their booth at Pop’s the previous week.

_“It was exhausting, and really scary to have so little control over myself. One day I’d be feeling better and the next I couldn’t get out of bed… It was so hard to deal with, but the thing I hated most was the unrelenting loneliness. It really felt like no one understood, or they didn’t care. I never want to feel like that again.”_

Jughead tapped his fingers on the desk anxiously, his jaw clenched hard, before whispering “Fuck it.” He grabbed his phone, rapidly typing out a message and pressing send before he could change his mind.

\--

 **Jughead:** No pressure, but I’m here if you want me to be… you aren’t alone. [10.15]

 **Betty:** Thank you. [10.49]

 

 **Betty:** Will you come over later? [14.33]

 **Jughead:** Sure, what time? [14.35]

 **Betty:** Any time after dark, you’ll have to come through the window. [14.42]

 **Jughead:** The window? How am I supposed to get to that?! I’m no spiderman Betts [14.45]

 **Betty:** Guess you’ll have to start looking for a ladder. See you later. [14.56]

\--

It was around 11pm when Betty finally heard a faint tapping on her window, seeing the vague silhouette of Jughead visible through the glass. She crawled off the bed, pushing the window open so he had enough space to climb through, which he managed pretty gracefully despite his lanky frame.

“Hey Betts, I stole Fred’s ladder” he whispered softly as he rose to full height again, a boyish grin on his face. “You doing okay?”

Just hearing his voice made Betty want to sob with relief; she hadn’t realised how much she’d missed him after just three days and coupled with her highly sensitive emotional state, it was hard not to break down. Not trusting herself to speak yet without tears threatening to spill, she just stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his torso. His response was immediate, arms circling her, pulling her further into his chest and rubbing her back soothingly. She was so grateful that he allowed her to just reside in his embrace for a while, not sure whether she was ready to talk yet. His fingers had gradually climbed up her back, one of his hands tickling the ends of her hair lightly, worn loose in the comfort of her home.

Reluctantly, she stepped back, brushing some of the hair out of her face and looking up at him with the smallest, tight-lipped smile. “Hi” she whispered timidly.

She looked different, Jughead noticed. It was a new version of Betty he hadn’t experienced yet, dressed in a baggy sweater and leggings, looking so vulnerable and afraid. There was a redness to her glorious green eyes that made his heart sink, saddened by the idea of Betty crying. “Hey” he breathed again, determined to maintain the warm smile on his face despite his concern.

“It’s okay,” she murmured, rubbing her neck awkwardly. “I’m okay, you can ask me what’s wrong” she invited him.

“I don’t have to” he replied, not wanting to pressure her into explaining if it made her uncomfortable.

“You want to” Betty looked at him knowingly, with another small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

In an act of rare bravery, he reached forwards, catching her hand in his own. With a shaky breath, he laced his fingers with hers, an action that felt strangely familiar despite its limited number of occurrences. “I was worried about you” he whispered quietly, keeping his eyes on their joined hands.

“I’m feeling a little better” she offered with a shrug, stroking her thumb lightly across the back of his hand.

“Did something happen?” he asked timidly, so afraid of saying the wrong thing.

“It would be a lot simpler if it worked like that” she breathed a humourless laugh. “No… nothing happened. I just woke up on Saturday and I felt that _horrible_ numbness.” Jughead swallowed hard, knowing she’d been struggling for three days without him noticing made him feel a little sick. “I mostly just slept through Saturday and Sunday… there’s not much else you can do when you’re too exhausted to get out of bed and it’s a lot easier than being awake. All I wanted to do was scream and cry but… I just couldn’t” her voice was thickening, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes and Jughead just felt powerless: here she was, standing in front of him, threatening to fall apart and he didn’t have the faintest idea of what to do.

“Tell me what you need, Betty” he breathed hoarsely, still unable to look up and meet her gaze. “Please tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“I just wanted you here” she tugged on his hand gently, silently asking him to look at her. His eyes drifted upwards, pleased to meet a slightly more genuine smile. “I feel better already” she assured, squeezing his hand lightly.

“Betty… I uh, I just need you to know something, okay?” he muttered in a hushed tone. “If I could go back, knowing how much it would affect you, there’s no way I ever would have left. I mean… I didn’t want to go anyway but… I feel like” his voice was strangled and cracking with emotion, “sometimes it feels like it’s all my fault.”

“Hey, no…” she whispered softly, stepping closer to him but Jughead couldn’t stop talking.

“I am _so_ sorry Betty, I wake up every day feeling so unbelievably guilty and I would do _anything_ to take that pain away for you… I would do anything” he sighed defeated.

“Jughead, I have never blamed you for my depression” she spoke sternly, willing him to believe her. “That came from me… I was always a loaded gun, something would have pulled the trigger eventually. Please don’t blame yourself for my darkness Juggie” the way her voice cracked was making his stomach tighten into knots. “There’s a lot of things that are wrong with me… but none of it is your fault.”

“There is nothing wrong with you Betty” Jughead murmured softly, and Betty’s breath caught when he lifted his free hand and pushed a loose piece of hair back from her face. His gaze burned into hers, so solemn and intense, two pools of raging ocean blue. “So many people can’t cope with those feelings you tell me about, so many people are torn apart by it. Betty Cooper gets up every day and finds 100 reasons to smile… You are, by far, the strongest person I know, Betty. If there’s darkness in you, you fight it off with your blinding light, brighter than the sun and all the stars in the sky.”

Betty couldn’t take it longer, with the way he was looking at her, the way their bodies had drifted closer together, the burning trail his thumb was leaving where it swept across her cheek, the ferocity of his gaze, his hand still enveloping hers. She could barely hear her own thoughts over the pounding of her heart. It felt like a ticking time bomb, and Betty was more than ready to explode.

“Jughead” she whispered breathlessly, placing her hand over his where it cradled her cheek, “I have to tell you something.”

“I know” he nodded, his jaw clenched hard.

And then he leaned forward and finally pressed his lips to hers.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GASP!!!
> 
> Please comment, they're my favourite thing to read!
> 
> Also, you can drop by my Tumblr and leave me a message there if you feel like it :) @bettyluvsjuggie


	19. This... Is All I Want

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead and Betty start to develop their relationship post first kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to do a quick thank you to all of you who commented on the last chapter. I've been having a really rough couple of days in terms of my own mental health and all those wonderful comments, particularly the ones complimenting the way I portray Betty's mental health in this fic, really made me feel a little better. I always try and reply to every comment, but collectively, I just want to thank everyone who reads and comments, I love all of you <3
> 
> As I said, my last couple of days have been pretty shit, so writing this was super tough, the words just wouldn't happen. I've managed to be a little more productive today but I still don't love this chapter so sorry in advance. It's also unedited because I'm fed up of looking at it. Apologies! 
> 
> Anyways, sorry for the rant, hope you enjoy <3

**Now:**

Jughead collapsed into bed, with a goofy, dizzied smile lingering on his face. For the first time in ages, he fell asleep completely content, replaying the same thing in his head over and over.

_Jughead presses his lips to hers, a gesture he hopes will communicate his feelings to her, since apparently his words always fail him around Betty. After a few short seconds, he pulls away slightly, his face still only inches from hers, not yet daring to open his eyes. Something unlocks in him when Betty pushes herself forwards, finding his lips again and he kisses her more desperately, which she is returning with equal fervour. Her hands have slid to his face, pulling him impossibly closer into her embrace. When she stumbles slightly over his feet, falling into him gently, their quiet laughter mingles with the sound of their breathlessness, smiling against each other’s lips._

_Reluctantly, Jughead pulls away from her, breathless. He breathes a heavy sigh, opening his eyes to rest on Betty. He admires her in the darkness of the room, her eyes still closed, lips twisted into a blissful smile and decides she has never looked more beautiful._

\--

When he walked into the office the next morning, Jughead wasn’t surprised that Betty isn’t there. He was starting to understand how Betty struggled sometimes, and there wasn’t much he could do to change that. His only comfort was that for a brief moment the previous night, she wasn’t so sad and that’s enough for him. He smiled at Alice and Hal, sitting and typing at their own desks.

“Good job on your work yesterday Jughead, I’ve emailed you a new set of assignments” Hal said with an encouraging smile.

“Thanks Mr Cooper” he nodded sheepishly, walking over to Betty’s desk which he’s borrowing, and slumping into the chair. As promised, there was a new set of tasks in his inbox, bringing a smile to his face. He was so grateful to have the chance to write professionally, even if it was only obituaries and small articles.

He was pleasantly surprised at around midday, lifting his head when the door opened and seeing Betty enter with a small smile on her face. She didn’t look his at first, going instead to greet her parents but after a few minutes, she approached him with a shy smile. “Hi” she whispered.

“Hey” he replied with a boyish grin, leaning back in his chair.

“You’re sitting at my desk” she breathed in a teasing tone, leaning against the side of the furniture, looking down at him.

“They don’t have another one, and I’m a big-time writer now, haven’t you heard?” he smirked sarcastically.

“Ah yes, Forsythe Jones III is it?” she laughed when Jughead’s smirk quickly dropped into a glare at the use of his birth name. “I’ll leave you to it, I’m on admin today” she didn’t have chance to push herself away, because Jughead’s hand caught hers quickly, keeping her in place. Betty looked back at him questioningly, noticing the hesitation on his face. She could see the worry lingering behind his eyes, knowing what he wanted to ask.

“I’m doing a lot better today” she assured him without his prompting, knowing he was probably hesitant to ask.

“Are you sure?” he asked, wincing slightly as if he wished he hadn’t said it.

“I promise” she affirmed, squeezing his hand gently. “Someone very special to me told me I was strong… a little like that goes a long way for someone like me” she stroked her thumb gently across his hand, not lifting her eyes to meet his.

“Good” he whispered. “Did this someone do anything else that was memorable?” she breathed a laugh at his words.

“Maybe he did” she grinned widely, looking at him and seeing a similar smile mirrored on his face, “but I don’t kiss and tell.” With that, she walked away towards the stationary store room, leaving Jughead chuckling at her desk.

\--

All afternoon, Betty could feel the heat of Jughead’s gaze on her. She had absolutely no idea how he was getting any work done because every time she glanced at him, his eyes were already trained on her and it had a maddening effect on her. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much she could do when her parent’s work stations were placed ten feet away from where he was, so she settled for brushing her hand against his whenever she walked by his desk, hoping that little tingling feeling she felt when his skin touched hers would never fade. When she was walking towards the archive room and spotted him leaving the bathroom, she glanced over her shoulder to check her parents weren’t looking, before grabbing Jughead’s hand and pulling him into the small room with her.

“Betts, what are you-“ he was silenced when Betty leaned upwards and pressed her lips to his. His response came immediately, cupping her face and moving his lips against hers softly. Too soon, he pulled away, his thumb sliding across her cheekbone tenderly. “Betty, I can’t be caught kissing you at work when my bosses are your parents” he whispered with a light laugh.

“You might be right” she sighed, leaning into his touch, letting her eyes flutter closed. “I guess we should leave then” she muttered, making no effort to move.

“Guess so” Jughead whispered, before leaning in and kissing her again. She smiled into his lips, pulling him closer by placing her hand on the side of his neck.

“Can we hang out after work?” she mumbled, pulling away, resting her forehead against his. He head nodded gently against hers, his eyes still closed with a hint of a smile resting on his face. She smiled, wondering in how adorable he looked. “Okay, I’ll let you get back to work” she giggled lightly, opening the door for him. He dropped a final chaste kiss on her mouth, before disappearing into the offices, leaving Betty with a blissful smile on her face.

The hours left on their shift couldn’t have passed more slowly, Betty found herself glancing at the clock every few minutes, just anxious to spend some time with Jughead. When her mom had allowed her to go on break, Veronica had called.

“Hey B, you doing okay? Haven’t heard from you in a couple of days” she chirped through the phone.

“Yeah I’m okay now, I was sick” Betty replied, not entirely lying. Though Veronica was somewhat aware of Betty’s problems, it wasn’t always something she felt like discussing with her. She knew it was so wrong, but it was hard not to feel embarrassed by her poor mental health sometimes. Betty generally only shared with her family. And now Jughead apparently.

“Oh I’m sorry to hear that, are you feeling better now?” she cooed, concerned.

Betty couldn’t help but glance through the front window of the offices, landing on Jughead sitting inside. He momentarily stopped typing, his eyes catching hers and offered her a large, toothy grin. She smiled back and whispered into the phone, “Yeah, I feel a lot better, thanks.”

“Are you still at work? Do you fancy meeting up?”

“Yeah, I’m on my break and I would love to, but I can’t today. I’m hanging out with Jughead after work. Sorry V, maybe tomorrow?” she sighed apologetically.

“Gosh, you can’t tear you two apart these days!” Veronica giggled playfully. “Has he made a move yet? Anymore almost kisses?”

“No” Betty bit her lip nervously. “No, not yet” she muttered again, feeling a little guilty for lying but she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to share yet. For now, she wanted to savour the secret for a little longer.

“I’m sure he will soon enough, B. That boy is head over heels for you” Veronica reassured unknowingly. “I don’t know him very well, but I know what infatuation looks like!”

“Yeah, maybe” she muttered softly, anxiously aware that she’d never been very good at lying. “I’ve got to go V, milkshakes at Pop’s tomorrow at 5?”

“Sounds sweet, see you tomorrow B” she babbled, hanging up the phone. Betty glanced at the time on her phone and audibly groaned, pushing back into the offices with a frown on her face.

“Cheer up Betts, just one hour to go” Jughead whispered as she walked past the desk, causing her to bite down on her lip in a beaming smile. She briefly placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling wider when he enveloped it with his own.

“One hour too long.”

\--

Not long later, Jughead and Betty sat overlooking the still waters at Sweetwater River, glistening gold under the early evening sun. A peaceful silence rested between them, just enjoying the picturesque view and the feel of their entangled fingers.

“I forgot how beautiful this place could be” Betty whispered.

“What do you mean you forgot?” Jughead asked curiously, casting a glance at her.

“I haven’t been here in a long time” she replied with a sad smile. “There’s a lot of memories here, of you, of the three of us. You remember how we always used to come in the summer?” she asked him, smiling nostalgically. He nodded faintly, wanting her to go on. “This is where Archie taught us to skip stones… where I taught you two to braid hair… where we used to paddle in the water… It always felt like a place that just the three of us shared, you know?” she looked back out to the water.

“Archie didn’t like talking about you after you left. I used to think it was because he was angry with you… but after a while I worked out that he just missed you a lot. I couldn’t come here because it felt too lonely without all three of us, but I’m pretty sure this is where Archie came to remember you” she explained softly.

“Yeah, we used to stay out here a long time” Jughead murmured quietly, remembering how he and Archie would stay by the riverbank for hours after Betty had left. He wondered if he would ever stop feeling guilty for the hurt he had caused, whether it was his fault or not.

Betty must have seen the sorrow on his face because she spoke up again. “He’s been so happy since you got back Juggie. He got his brother back and he’s more grateful than he’ll ever tell you” she smiled reassuringly.

“I was so lucky he didn’t hold a grudge… When I first saw him I was glad he didn’t have a similar reaction to you, because that dude looks like he can pack a punch” Jughead breathed a laugh as Betty gasped.

“I never told you how sorry I was for that!” she yelled panicked.

“Yeah you did” he chuckled at the way her brow furrowed, concentrating hard on trying to recall an apology. “When I drove you home from the party” he added, realisation crossing her face, “It was very sincere, you cried and everything.”

She groaned dramatically, placing her hands over her face in embarrassment, “Oh God, Drunk Betty!” He just laughed at her, trying to pull her hands away from her face.

“Hey! Stop hiding!” he chuckled, while she squirmed away from him.

“No, I’m ashamed!” Betty couldn’t help but laugh, despite herself.

“Betty, I literally don’t care!” She stopped thrashing, peering at him through her fingers.

“You don’t?” she called questioningly, letting him take her hands in his own.

“I deserved it” he shrugged. “I saw how you ran away from me, I shouldn’t have just sprung it on you like that.”

“I was having a panic attack” she mumbled without thinking, really wishing she hadn’t when she saw the distressed look on Jughead’s face. “No, don’t do that, you couldn’t have known… It’s okay” she reassured him, stroking his hands delicately. He looked a little more relaxed but still very uneasy.

“What’s it like? A panic attack?” he whispered, nervously.

She didn’t speak for a moment, just looking at their joined hands, watching as their fingers tangled together in perfect knots. “Do you really want to know?”

When he nodded, she took a shaky inhale, trying to think of an explanation. “It starts off kind of slow, I get a little shaky or I hyperventilate a little and then… it all kind of happens at once. It’s like I can’t breathe, no matter how hard I gasp the air won’t reach my lungs and it’s honestly a little terrifying.” She didn’t want to meet his eyes, afraid of seeing his reaction to her words. Instead, she decided to keep on sharing, apparently she was never done bearing her soul to him. “Sometimes I can stop it, sometimes this helps” she whispered, slipping her hands from his and holding them out, her palms facing upwards. She watched as his eyes trailed over the eight small crescent shaped marks, faded but still visible.

“It hurts, but it’s better than a panic attack” she whispered, casting her own eyes down at the silvery marks. Gently, her hands are covered by Jughead’s, gathering them together. His eyes stare into hers as he pulls both her hands to his mouth, kissing the back of them lightly. It’s a gesture so tender and filled with unspoken meaning, it brings tears to Betty’s eyes. Instead of letting them fall, she shuffled closer to him and kissed him softly.

She wondered how it felt so easy with him, like it was the most natural thing in the world to kiss him, with the exception of the fact that it still made her heart pound erratically inside her chest.

“I’m worried that I’m going to scare you off” her words make his eyes snap open in disbelief. “No one’s ever wanted crazy Betty Cooper before” her voice is laced with so much hurt, it makes him feel like his heart is going to shatter.

He wants to be brutally honest and tell her that Betty Cooper is literally all he’s ever wanted. A small part of him wants to tell her that he’s definitely, without a doubt, falling hopelessly in love with her. But Jughead knows that he’s had his whole life to deal with his feelings and it wouldn’t be fair to spring that on her, not yet.

“Well no one knows you like I do, Betts” he murmured. “And this… is all I want.”

“Yeah, me too.”

There’s never been a more perfect setting to fall in love than Sweetwater River at sunset, staring into a pair of impossibly green eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me a comment, or drop by my tumblr @bettyluvsjuggie <3


	20. I Miss You Already

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Veronica meet up and chat about their respective love lives and Jughead and Betty have a late night meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised myself I would finish this chapter before 2am today and it's 1:35 so I'm almost successful? 
> 
> Thank you so much for your continued support, hope you enjoy <3

**Now:**

Betty walked into Pop’s with a large smile on her face, scanning the diner for her friend. So far she’d had a pretty good day: spent full of secret embraces with Jughead at every opportunity she could muster, whether it was skating her hand over his while she passed him or dragging him into the archive room to steal a kiss. It had her feeling euphoric, her recent dark feelings slipping further from her the more time she spent with Jughead. They would never be gone, but they were slightly further out of reach and that was something.

Finally, Betty spotted Veronica in the corner of the diner, lazily stirring a milkshake with a straw. She went to the counter, quickly ordering her own drink and strolled over to where her friend was sitting.

“Hey V” she said grinning, glancing at her. For a moment, Betty wondered if something was wrong, something seemed off. Veronica Lodge was always dressed and styled perfectly in sophisticated clothes, so seeing her dressed down in jeans and a loose sweater threw Betty off slightly. Her worries faded a little when Veronica looked up and flashed her that classic charismatic smile.

“Hey Betty” she smiled, gesturing for her to take a seat. “How was work?”

“It was okay, I’ve mostly just been doing admin at the moment, Jughead’s doing a lot of the writing” she shrugged, tossing her bag down and slipping into a chair beside her.

“Does that bother you?”

“Of course not, I’ve written plenty of pieces for the Register. I’m happy he’s getting some experience” she assured honestly. It hadn’t even crossed her mind to be jealous of the attention he was receiving from her parents, she was just happy for him.

“How are things with Jughead?” Veronica asked curiously. For the briefest of moments, Betty swore she saw a flicker of sadness behind her eyes, masked by the bright smile she was sporting.

“They’re fine… are you okay V?” she inquired, concerned. To anyone who didn’t know her so well, Veronica might have appeared perfectly herself, but to Betty, something about her seemed slightly off kilter.

“Yes” she spat frantically, looking a little rattled, confirming Betty’s suspicions that something was wrong. Veronica looked up at her hesitantly, exhaling a small shaky breath, “B, I’m fine.”

“You’re not” she shook her head in disagreement. When the waiter strolled over with her milkshake, she offered him a small smile before turning her gaze back to Veronica.

“I don’t want to talk about it” she muttered quietly, her eyes cast down into her lap. Betty nodded understandingly, she could certainly relate to that feeling.

“Okay, that’s alright” she whispered soothingly.

“Please tell me about you and Jughead” Veronica met her eyes with a small encouraging smile.

Betty hadn’t been planning on telling Veronica, at least not yet, but her best friend looked like she needed a spot of good news, so she caved. “We’re sort of seeing each other, he kissed me a couple of nights ago” she smiled widely, biting down on her lip. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Oh B! I’m so happy for you” Veronica babbled excitedly, looking a bit more like herself. “I’ve been rooting for you two” she chuckled, throwing Betty a knowing smile. “Are you happy?”

“More than I’ve been in a long time” Betty whispered. “We just have this connection V, I can’t explain it.”

“Oh I bet you do” Veronica laughed, quirking her eyebrows slightly, her face full of innuendo.

“No not like that!” Betty protested with a light blush rushing to her cheeks but pleased to hear Veronica’s tinkering laugh filling the diner, whether it was at her expense or not. “In all seriousness, I think Jughead and I connect on an emotional level first and foremost.”

“But you’re obviously attracted to each other as well” Veronica chimed in with a pointed look. “You can feel the sexual tension between you just crackling” she explained, grinning. When she caught the embarrassed look on Betty’s face she cackled playfully. “Don’t be shy B!” she teased, well aware of her friend’s timid nature in comparison to her own. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. I’m happy for you Betty” she conceded when Betty shot her a playful glare.

“Thank you” Betty smiled gratefully. “Hey, how are things with Archie?” Veronica’s whole body tensed up at the mention of the red-head and realisation dawned on Betty that her low mood probably had something with him. “Veronica, please tell me what’s wrong” she pleaded desperately, reaching her hand over the table to clasp Veronica’s comfortingly.

It took a few minutes of silence for Veronica to finally pipe up, in a very uncharacteristically quiet tone, “I ended things with Archie, for real this time.”

“Oh V, I’m so sorry” Betty’s heart sank a little, feeling guilty for chattering on about Jughead. She stroked her friend’s hand soothingly.

“I have no right to feel like this, I’m the one who broke it off” she muttered, voice trembling slightly.

“Now that’s not true, you’re allowed to be upset” Betty cooed quietly, not sure quite what to say. “Can I ask what happened?” she asked hesitantly, not wanting to make Veronica uncomfortable.

“I thought that this time, it was going to work. It felt different for a couple of weeks you know? But I was wrong, as usual we fell out of sync” she muttered, shaking her head. “I had to take a step back and ask myself what I was trying to hold on to… A relationship that was never really worked, a boy that’s broken my heart more times than I can count, not that I’m totally innocent either. I just figured it doesn’t seem worth fighting for anymore.”

“What did Archie say?” Betty asked, growing more and more concerned about her other friend. She knew he had never been perfect in showing it, but he really cared about Veronica.

“He was… upset. There was a lot of yelling and arguing…” she trailed off, her eyes dropping from Betty’s. “He, uh, he told me that he loves me.”

“Oh V” Betty couldn’t seem to find the words to comfort her, aware that that probably would have been the worst thing for Veronica to hear when trying to break up with Archie.

“It almost convinced me, and I might even love him back…” her voice cracked. “It’s not enough Betty. Some people just aren’t meant for each other.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing. It’s time you two stopped hurting each other” Betty whispered and shuffled her chair closer so she could envelop her friend in a tight hug. It seemed to be this gesture that broke Veronica’s composure, because Betty could hear her soft sobs muffled into her shoulder. She didn’t say anything, she just let Veronica cry in her arms for a while, as she had allowed Betty to many times before.

Veronica pulled away after a while, frantically wiping under her eyes. “Shit, I promised I wasn’t going to cry anymore” she breathed the smallest laugh, then gave Betty a small smile. “I’ll be okay soon, I promise. But for now, I think things are going to suck for a while.”

“That’s okay V. Just call me if you need to talk, please” she pleaded, stroking her arm comfortingly.

“Of course I will Betty” she reassured. “Thank you for being my best friend, B” she sniffled, her voice slightly hoarse.

“Always V” Betty smiled in reply, hugging her close again.

“I honestly am happy for you, you know” Veronica muttered pulling away so she could meet Betty’s eyes. “I do have a question though, if you don’t mind me asking” she looked a little nervous to ask. When Betty nodded encouragingly, Veronica questioned “Have you thought about what you’ll do when he has to go back?”

The question didn’t surprise her really, but it had been one that Betty was trying not to think about. She knew that eventually, summer would end and Jughead would have to return home for his senior year, but she’d been living in a blissful denial for a while. “Not really” she breathed a humourless laugh. “For now, I kind of just want to enjoy being with Jughead, for as long as I can” she confessed honestly, there was still a number of weeks until school started and that would have to be enough for now.

“As long as you stay happy, that’s good enough for me” Veronica offered with a small smile. “Now can we get some food and discuss something a little lighter?” she spoke up with a laugh, to which Betty giggled in return.

“Of course V.”

\--

The knock came on her window at around midnight. She quietly padded over from her bed and began pushing it open, which he helped with.

“Hey there Juliet” Jughead whispered with a smile. She was a little surprised to see that he wasn’t wearing his beanie, letting his ebony curls free to dangle over his forehead. He was certainly a sight for sore eyes, lit beautifully by the silvery moonlight, smiling at her adoringly, perched on top of Fred’s ladder. “May I come in?”

“Yeah, of course” she moved out of his path, letting him crawl through the small space, until he stood straight up, towering over her. His eyes caught hers for a moment, and without any more hesitation, he dipped his head to hers, pressing a short kiss to her lips.

“Sorry I’m so late” he muttered apologetically, his hand stroking her cheek gently. “I was with Archie” he said with a sad smile.

“Oh god, is he okay?” Betty asked, concerned.

“Not in the slightest, Betts” Jughead shrugged candidly. “He hasn’t stopped drinking all afternoon and he’s honestly a mess. Finally crashed out about five minutes ago.”

Betty turned and went to sit her bed, planting herself on the middle, crossing her legs. “Gosh, they’re both hurting so bad. I wish there was some other way to fix this” she muttered desperately, patting the space in front her for Jughead to sit when she saw him awkwardly lingering in the space in the middle of her bedroom.

He approached her, sitting down on the side of the bed and grabbing her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Archie’s hurt, but he’s going to be okay. I think it’s the right decision.”

Betty shrugged, “Yeah that’s what I said.” When she looked up at Jughead, he was already gazing at her, studying her face with a lazy smile. She grinned in return, moving her free hand to lightly touch his hair, brushing it out of his face. “I was half expecting you to be bald under there” she giggled. He just chuckled in response.

“I missed you” he whispered after a few moments, the hand that wasn’t holding hers lazily tracing patterns and swirls on her leg. His fingers were leaving a burning trail and a thousand butterflies were fluttering in her stomach at his simple touch.

“You were at work with me about seven hours ago!” she chuckled at his word, covering her mouth when she remembered she needed to be quiet so as not to wake her parents.

“Could have sworn it was longer” he muttered with a grin, lifting his hand from her leg and letting it trail along her jaw, so he could cup her face. Betty wasn’t sure how her breath still quickened in anticipation, despite kissing him multiple times now, but there was still a familiar pounding in her chest when he leaned in towards her.

She couldn’t help but move her lips against his eagerly, it finally felt like they were in private, despite her parents sleeping only a few doors down. She cupped his own face in her hands, letting the tips of her fingers brush against his hair lightly. When his tongue brushed against her own, it felt like her whole body was electrified, sparking the soft moan she emitted. She pulled away, deciding the position they were in was unsatisfactory as she was having to reach too far. In an act of bravery, she shifted so that she was straddling his lap.

“Is this okay?” she whispered breathlessly, letting her hands tangle in the back of his hair.

“Are you kidding me?” he asked in disbelief, letting his lips return to hers hungrily. There was a sudden desperation between them, a need to hold each other closer, to kiss each other harder. Betty thought she was going to burst into flames when Jughead tore his lips from hers, instead trailing them down her neck, peppering light kisses there, ever so faintly letting his teeth scrape her skin. She pulled his face back to hers, kissing him fiercely.

“You know” she breathed between his kisses, “if you’d asked me what I would be doing in four weeks time when you showed up, this probably would have been the last thing I would guess.” She leaned against his forehead, laughing quietly.

“Only in my wildest dreams” he muttered, leaning in to kiss her again, shocked when she pulled her head back, with a confused look on her face. He suddenly realised what he’d said, what he’d implied and his stomach dropped.

“What do you mean Juggie?” Betty asked quietly, trying to gently lift his head so he would meet his eyes.

“Well, uh…” he stammered anxiously. “I’ve kind of had a crush on you for a lot longer than you realised.”

“Like since before you came back?” she asked in disbelief, her eyes wide and doubting.

He breathed a small nervous laugh, wondering how he should explain himself. ( Fuck it. )

“Betty Cooper, I’ve had a crush on you for most of my life” her eyes bulged at his words. “It didn’t matter that you didn’t like me back, it didn’t matter that I moved away… I never stopped thinking about you” he smiled softly, stroking his thumb across her cheek tenderly. “You have always been the most beautiful thing in my life.”

Betty was stunned silent by this new revelation, her mouth slightly agape at his confession. She climbed off his lap, sitting by his side instead. She looked up at him with wide green watery eyes and whispered “Really?”

“Yeah, really Betts” he assured her with a small smile, a swirling nervousness settling in his stomach that he’d scared her off, that he’d come on too strong.

“Gosh, I was so blind.”

“I don’t care” he shook his head softly, taking her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers. He raised their joined hands and placed a soft kiss against the back of hers, “I’m just happy you’re here now.”

“There’s no-where else I would rather be” she said in a quiet voice, rubbing her thumb across his lightly. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“It wouldn’t have mattered” he breathed softly. “You liked Archie so much, you never would have even considered me. It’s okay, I was quite happy to admire you from afar” he squeezed her hand lightly.

“I reckon it would have mattered more than you think” Betty whispered lowly.

“What makes you think that?”

“Because it matters a hell of a lot now” she smiled, leaning in and pressed a short kiss to his mouth. When she pulled back, his grin was triumphant and wide, making Betty chuckle slightly.

“I should probably go, there’s only so late I can sneak in without Fred noticing me” he grumbled, standing reluctantly, pulling him over to the window with him.

“Only nine hours until you see me at work” Betty teased him with a smile.

“It’s too long” he groaned dramatically. “I miss you already” Jughead smiled, kissing her quickly.

He began stuffing himself through the window, the exit far more ungraceful than it was to enter. She called to him “Who knew you were so cheesy?” a light laugh accompanying her words.

He shot her a boyish smile. “I’ve never had a reason to be until now” he whispered before disappearing down the ladder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought <3


	21. Are You Nervous?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead have been dating a few weeks, and take a mini road trip to see a familiar face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS! I have missed you!!! I'm so sorry I haven't updated (it feels like it's been forever to me!). All I've wanted to do this week is write but my laptop has been FUCKED- it's starting to work a little now so we should be back on track. Anyway, I've had an absolutely shit week in general, so it was hard to get this chapter going but I hope you like the end result! 
> 
> I have genuinely missed this story in such a short amount of time, but I have missed my readers so much more. I LOVE YOU ALL <3

**Now:**

“I will never grow tired of this” Jughead whispered with a smile before returning his lips to hers, kissing her softly in their booth at Pop’s. “You taste like a milkshake” he grinned, sitting back and tossing his arm over the back of the booth, letting his fingers brush lightly against the softness of her cardigan on her shoulder.

“Gee, Juggie, I wonder why that is” she teased sarcastically, lifting her milkshake glass and taking a sip. She shuffled closer into his side, nestling under the crook of his arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

“Hey! I thought being sarcastic was my thing?” he couldn’t resist letting his fingers thread through the length of her ponytail absentmindedly.

She pulled away from his body slightly, so she could look up at his face with a soft smile. “I guess I’ve been spending too much time with you” she muttered fondly.

“Yeah I guess so” he breathed, pressing a short kiss to her lips. Jughead couldn’t remember a time that he’d felt as happy as he had been in the last three weeks, when he’d been dating Betty. He couldn’t steal enough time with her, despite working with her each day and climbing into her darkened room almost every night, it never felt like enough. Jughead just simply craved more of her kiss, more of her company, he was hopelessly addicted to all things Betty Cooper. Thankfully, as far as Jughead could tell, she seemed to yearn for their private moments as much as he did.

When Betty’s phone started to buzz on the table in front of them, she seriously considered leaving it and just staying cuddled up to Jughead, nuzzling her head further into his shoulder. She gave in when it rang persistently, and Jughead gently nudged her forward. “Go on, get it” he murmured.

Betty picked up the phone, frowning as she saw a number she didn’t recognise illuminated across the screen. Hesitantly, she pressed the answer button and raised the device to her ear. “Hello?” she breathed cautiously.

Jughead watched as Betty’s face transformed from a look of confusion to pure excitement, a large smile on the surface of her face. She paused for a moment, shooting an apologetic look towards Jughead, before disappearing through the door of the diner so she could take the call outside.

“Want another coffee Jughead?” Pop called from behind the counter, smiling warmly at him and grabbing the coffee pot. The elder man was growing fonder and fonder of him as Jughead became a fairly regular customer at the diner, enjoying its ambience as a setting for his writing. Jughead tended to order a lot of burgers, drink a lot of coffee, and leave a lot of tips. He was thankful that his job at the Register allowed him to do so, earning a small amount but it was enough.

“Sure, thanks Pop” he smiled gratefully as he refilled his cup, leaning back in the booth and letting his gaze drift through the window so he could see Betty chatting animatedly on the phone. Jughead couldn’t help but wonder who she was talking to, noting that Betty was far more relaxed than she would be talking with a stranger so there must’ve been an element of familiarity. He figured he would find out soon enough as Betty hung up the phone after a while, somewhat regretfully, spending a few moments looking at the device in her hands with a trace of a smile. When she looked up, her eyes connected with Jughead’s and she gave him a small wave, heading back to the steps of the diner and pushing through the door.

“Who was that?” he asked curiously, looking up at her as she approached their booth. She slipped in beside him wordlessly, threading an arm around his waist, hugging herself to his torso tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, without another question, not wishing to push the issue if she wasn’t comfortable.

“It was Polly” she whispered hoarsely against the fabric of his shirt.

“Betty that’s great!” he enthused, rubbing her back soothingly, unsure why she seemed so sad. “You looked pretty happy to be talking to her” he prompted, hoping she would share why it had lowered her mood.

“I guess it just reminded me how much I miss her” she murmured. “She’s living a couple of hours away from here, in a small seaside town. She actually asked me to visit her…”

“Why don’t you sound excited by that?” Jughead asked, placing a small kiss in her hair to reassure her.

“She doesn’t want me to tell Mom and Dad where she is” she lifted her head slightly, so she could look at his face, “they didn’t approve of her pregnancy.”

“You can still go Betts, I could even go with you if you want” he offered, bringing a small smile to her face. “I think you’re just nervous, but it’ll be okay.”

“Can you promise that?” she asked, breathing the faintest of laughs.

“I can promise” he took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it gently, “that whether it’s the best day ever, or everything goes up in flames, that I will be there to hold your hand.”

Betty wondered how she’d got so lucky, to have Jughead not only just back in her life but have him infiltrate its ever corner. He always knew what to say, or recognised the times when it was better not to talk at all. There was also something about having Jughead with her, made Betty feel more capable, like everything was just a little less out of reach when his hand was holding hers. She was so blissfully happy, that it was almost possible to block out the little voice that resided in the darkest corner of her mind, that told her that nothing this good ever lasts, especially not for Betty. It was almost easy to ignore, but not quite.

“Thank you Juggie” she whispered, trying to swallow the lump forming in her throat. “I’m sorry, I’m being crazy again” she laughed, shaking her head, stilling when she felt Jughead’s hand resting tenderly on her face. She looked up to meet his fierce blue eyes, clear as water, staring back at her.

“It’s okay, we’re all a little crazy” he assured, with a small smile, stroking her cheek soothingly.

“Even you?” Betty couldn’t help but smile despite herself.

“Especially me” he replied with a laugh, swallowing her own laughs when he leaned his head in and kissed her softly. “Hey guess what” he mused as he pulled away.

“What?” she whispered, biting her lip with a smile.

“You still taste like a milkshake” he offered her a boyish lopsided grin.

“Is that so?” Betty laughed, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, and you’re my favourite flavour” it was the over-exaggerated wink he flashed her that made Betty laugh so loud that the whole of Pop’s could hear.

\--

“Are you nervous?”

“How could you tell?” Betty cast a glance to Jughead in the passenger seat of her car, who was staring at her cautiously. Truthfully, she knew she was clearly incredibly anxious, evident from the fact that they’d been sat in the car for fifteen minutes and she had yet to turn the key in the ignition.

“Because you’re gripping the steering wheel so tight you look like you’re going to break your fingers” he stated, pointing to where Betty’s hands were slowly turning white. Quickly, she took them off the wheel, shoving them into her lap instead, her eyes falling there too. “Would you like me to drive Betts?” he murmured. She nodded gratefully, pushing the driver’s door open and slipping instead into the passenger side.

“Why do I feel so bad for lying?” she leaned forward, resting her head in her hands as Jughead clipped his seatbelt into place.

“Technically, you’re not lying” he pointed out, turning the key so the car’s engine started humming. “You and I are going to the beach, we’re just omitting the part about Polly being there.”

“I still feel guilty” she huffed, flopping back in her seat with a sigh.

“I know and that’s adorable” he smirked teasingly while he pulled the car out and began driving down the street, swirling the concoction of nervousness in Betty’s stomach. “Please tell me you’re at least a little excited, because if you’re not I’m just gonna drive us to Pop’s instead.”

“I am _really_ excited Juggie” she assured, a genuine grin blossoming on her face to support her statement. “Polly and I have been texting since she called last week, I can’t wait to see her” she beamed, truly starting to realise that in a couple of hours she would be able to see her sister for the first time in months.”

“Good” he grinned. “Hey, do you wanna put some music on?” he questioned, with a quick glance in her direction.

“I don’t have anything good on my phone” Betty frowned slightly, “where’s yours?”

Jughead patted his pockets quickly with one hand, then shooting another quick glance towards her. “Uh, did it fall out of my pocket in that seat?”

She had a look down the side of the seat, checking the foot-well too. “I can’t see it” she shook her head apologetically.

“Ah shit, I must have left it” he cursed. “Oh well the radio will do” he nodded, gesturing for her put something on. She obliged, tuning the device until some seemingly half-decent music started filtering through the speakers.

“Will this do?” she turned to him.

“Yeah, it’s not bad” he shrugged, absentmindedly drumming his fingers against the wheel. “You are now leaving Riverdale, the town with pep!” he narrated as they crossed the threshold, Betty stifling a giggle at his words. “Sorry, that’s Sabrina’s favourite thing to tease me about regarding Riverdale, she googled it” he explained.

“She’s certainly quite a character” Betty shook her head with a laugh. “I like her though” she smiled fondly. A few days previously, Jughead had finally given in and accepted a facetime call from Sabrina. When Betty had appeared in the frame, she’d screamed rather loudly, giving all three of them a fright.

_“J! It’s the girl from the pictures!” she yelled excitedly, waving enthusiastically on the small phone screen._

_“You must be Sabrina!” she smiled, leaning over Jughead’s shoulder so she could see the screen better. “But what pictures?”_

_“Nothing! No pictures!” Jughead quickly declared, hoping his ‘don’t you dare’ expression was being conveyed properly through the screen to Sabrina. Either it wasn’t successful or she chose to ignore it anyway._

_“Well, Miss Cooper, before he returned to Riverdale, J here was your very own online stalker” Sabrina spilled with a smirk, Jughead turning scarlet as she confessed a secret he’d very much tried to keep under wraps._

_Betty looked at him with a smirk, “I thought you didn’t have any social media.”_

_“He doesn’t, he used mine, that’s how I know you” Sabrina piped up again. “He’s been doing it for months and months…”_

_“Speak again and I’m hanging up” he threatened, glaring into the camera, but only receiving a tinkering laugh in return._

_“No Sabrina, tell me more of his secrets!” Betty babbled excitedly, pulling up a chair and taking the phone from Jughead’s hands._

_“Ah where do I begin?” she sighed giggling. The following thirty minutes essentially consisted of Sabrina and Betty swapping stories and giggling while Jughead sat next to Betty and groaned with his head in his hands. His least favourite part was when they swapped numbers._

“I still don’t know why you made me delete her number?” Betty chuckled lightly.

“Because, Betts, there’s only a certain threshold of embarrassment I can manage, and it was crossed about three minutes into that conversation” he scolded with a frown.

“I had a great time” she shrugged with a smug smile painted on her face.

“Oh I wonder why” he mused sarcastically. “Don’t worry, I made sure to scold her too.”

“What did you do?” she giggled.

“I threatened to slice up her Dr Martens” he smirked mischievously, keeping his eyes trained on the road ahead.

“Juggie!”

“What?” he shouted back. “I wouldn’t actually do it! I just want her to _think_ that I would. That girl lives in those boots” he explained, “I’m pretty sure she thinks they make her look less like a fairy, but she is wrong.”

After a few minutes of silence, Betty piped up gain. “How’s Archie doing?”

“What? You haven’t spoken to him?” Jughead asked with a frown, as far as he knew Betty and Archie were close, so he wasn’t sure why Betty was asking him.

She shook her head sadly, “He hasn’t been replying to my texts or calls and when try and go round he’s either out working with his dad or locked up in the garage. I think he’s mad at me, but I have no idea why.”

“I’ll talk to him” Jughead assured her. “He’s been a little off with me as well to be honest. The only thing I’ve got out of him the past few days is ‘I’m gonna get Ronnie back, I swear’” Jughead demonstrated, doing a highly inaccurate impersonation of Archie. “I have no idea how he plans on doing so, but good luck to him I guess.”

“I’m not so sure, Veronica seems pretty decided” Betty countered, “that girl is pretty stubborn when she wants to be.”

“Should be pretty interesting then” he shrugged. “Hey Betty, do you wanna grab the map? Because I have no idea where we’re going from here.”

She laughed, fishing the map out of her bag and studying it quickly. “Okay, what we’re going to do is _turn around_ ” she stated calmly. When Jughead shot her a questioning look, she explained “We missed the turn about five minutes ago.”

“I see” Jughead nodded, shaking his head with a laugh and finding a spot to turn the car in. “Get memorising that thing, it’s gonna be a very difficult drive otherwise” he said, pointing at the map, laughing.

“Only 2 hours to go!” she enthused sarcastically

\--

“Is this definitely it?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“I checked the address three times, as per your request. So yeah, I’m sure.”

“Let me check again” Betty grabbed her phone from him, studying the house number and street number lit up on the screen again. “Okay, this is it” she nodded firmly, looking up at the small cottage again. “I’m a little nervous.”

“I couldn’t tell” Jughead teased her lightly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close to him, placing a kiss at the top of her head. “Once you see her, all your nerves will fall away” he encouraged her, stroking her hair soothingly. “Do you want me to come with you? Or I don’t have to, if you want some alone time for a while.”

“Is that okay?” she asked hesitantly, “Maybe you could come a little later?”

“Sure, I can wander around the town for a bit” he nodded, giving her a small smile.

“Wait! You don’t have your phone” she bit her lip. “Here take mine” she offered, passing him the phone, “and I can text you from Polly’s.”

“As you wish” he said, pushing the phone into his back pocket. “Good luck, have fun” he breathed, before kissing her briefly. He smiled at her warmly, walking backwards away from the house, still watching her. “Go on!” he gestured towards the house.

With a shaky exhale, Betty crossed the quiet street, walking towards the quaint little cottage that faced the seafront. Betty had to admire how beautiful the small house was, with ivy climbing the brick red walls, it looked a little like something out of a fairytale. Betty pushed through the small gate at its entrance, smiling at the colourful flowers sprinkled around the small front yard, knowing that Polly had always had a green thumb, always loving planting pretty things in their garden. She approached the front door, and knocked quickly, hoping her nerves would dissipate soon.

Thankfully, Jughead was right. As the door swung open, all of her anxiousness quickly morphed into happiness as her eyes landed on a _very_ pregnant Polly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me a comment? Thank you for reading my loves <3


	22. Slowly, But All At Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Polly spend some time reconnecting, sharing stories and Jughead and Betty have a heart-to-heart by the sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why am I posting a chapter at nearly half 4 in the morning?! I wish I knew. 
> 
> Just a little note, in this AU, JASON AND POLLY ARE NOT RELATED because it weirds me out too much. Jason's alive and well in this story and he by no means shares any DNA with the girl he's all loved up with, even though he technically isn't even in this chapter lol.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy <3

**Now:**

“Betty!” she heard as a whirlwind of pastel purple, blonde hair and baby bump threw her arms around her. “I’m so glad you came!” Polly hugged her tightly.

“Poll” Betty leaned into her sister’s embrace, gently wrapping her arms around her. “Of course I came, I missed you… so much.”

“Oh stop” Polly breathed a laugh, pulling back slightly, wafting her face with her hand, “you’ll set me off.” She smiled warmly as she looked Betty over. “Gosh,” she sighed, “how do you get more and more beautiful every day?”

“Never mind me!” Betty waved her hand dismissively. “Look at you, you’re glowing Polly! How are you so pregnant?”

“Come inside, I’ll tell you” she smiled, pulling Betty out of the doorway of the cottage.

The inside was a little sparse, but they’d clearly made an effort to make it nice, to make it their home. Betty smiled as she spotted a framed photo of Polly with herself and their parents, alongside one of Jason and his family, on the table in the hallway. Polly walked towards a door near the end of the hallway, guiding Betty into the kitchen. She carefully lowered herself into a chair placed around the small table in the centre of the room, gesturing for Betty to take a seat beside her.

“Jason’s at work so we have the place to ourselves” Polly smiled. “I guess I have a lot of explaining to do…” she began nervously, leaning back in the chair and absentmindedly rubbing her bump. “First of all, I’m so sorry it took me so long to call, I feel truly horrible. I’m not sure whether it was the hormones or just plain guilt but I convinced myself that you hated me, that you were disappointed in me… After a while I was just afraid you wouldn’t want to talk to me.”

“Polly I would never…”

“I know” she affirmed, bobbing her head. “I was silly, and I am so, so sorry Betty. I missed you so much” she reached out and cupped Betty’s hand. “Second of all, the reason I have such a huge bump is because we’re having twins” she beamed excitedly, lifting Betty’s hand and moving it over her stomach where Betty felt a faint kick.

“Oh my gosh! Polly, congratulations, that’s such wonderful news!” Betty gasped excitedly as she felt more movement under her hand. “Are you excited?”

“I really am, won’t be long now!” she smiled, patting her bump lightly. “Twins is definitely going to challenge us money wise, but we’re going to get through it, I’m sure.”

“If you don’t mind me asking…” Betty trailed off, not sure how to phrase the question.

“How are we affording this to begin with?” Polly offered. When Betty nodded sheepishly, she reassured her with a smile, “It’s okay, it’s a fair question… From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was scraping together every penny I could, just in case. I managed to do that for a while. When I couldn’t hide the fact that I was pregnant anymore, I told Jason first, then Mom and Dad. Jason managed to stash away some money too, he was so happy when I told him by the way, it made me feel a lot better. Then I told Mom and Dad and that made me feel a lot worse…”

Betty’s brow furrowed, she realised she hadn’t heard much of the story before. All she’d known is that Polly had run away when she got pregnant, but she was starting to suspect that matters were more complicated than she’d anticipated.

“They said they wanted me to give the baby up for adoption Betty, and it broke my heart. I could never _ever_ give away a child that is half of me, and half of the man I love. I figured I couldn’t be hurt anymore but Dad pulled me aside one day and asked if I’d rather have an abortion, said that he could book me an appointment as soon as the next day… and that’s when I decided I had to leave. I’m not sure Mom even knows he asked me that. She got really upset, and begged me to stay but I couldn’t, Betty. When she realised I wasn’t changing my mind, she dragged me to a bank and withdrew a huge sum of money and shoved into my hands. She told me that she didn’t support me leaving, but if I was going to, she wanted me to be safe. Mom’s the reason I have somewhere to live” she smiled, slightly sadly. “I miss you all, so much, but I’m not sure Riverdale is my home anymore. I’m worried that if Mom and Dad find out where we are, they’ll convince me to come back and I truly am happy here.”

“I’m so sorry Polly, I had no idea any of that had happened” she murmured. She couldn’t help the stab of anger she was feeling, directed at her dad for making such a suggestion, but was happy that it was being somewhat overpowered by the surging pride she felt for her mom. If there was anything Betty had come to learn about her mother in the past few years, it was that she just wanted what was best for her and Polly. She didn’t always get it right, truth be told, but she god damn tried every single time.

“It’s okay, I’m learning to come to terms with what happened” Polly commented. “It’ll be alright, I just need to stay a secret a little while longer” she smiles, squeezing Betty’s hand lightly. “But Aunty Betty is always welcome to come and visit! Enough about me, how are you doing Betty? What’s going on in your life?”

“It’s been an interesting summer” Betty breathed a laugh, reaching up and tightening her ponytail. “I’ve been working at the Register, I’ve written a few articles” she announced, with a proud smile.

“That’s so wonderful, you’ve always been such a talented writer Betty. Thank goodness, because I can barely string a sentence together!” Polly chuckled, waiting expectantly for Betty to continue talking.

“I went to a few parties, very much Veronica’s doing. She’s always challenging me and encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone…” she carried on, trying to find the words to explain the biggest thing that had happened to her that summer. “And… Uh, well…”

“What is it?” Polly inquired, her brow creasing a little.

“Well, I got the chance to reconnect with someone I haven’t seen in a long time” she sighed, with a small smile. “Jughead has been staying in Riverdale for the summer, we’re actually kind of dating.”

Polly was clearly trying to mask the shock on her face, but she wasn’t really succeeding. “Wow…” she mumbled under her breath, “How did that happen?”

“Slowly, but all at once…” Betty admitted truthfully. “He’s been back for about six weeks, we’ve been dating for the last three. He was just so… there for me?” she offered with a sigh. “I’m really happy” she shrugged, unsure how to verbalise her feelings.

“There’s not long left of summer…” Polly began pushing herself out of the chair. “Do you want a drink?”

“Water please” Betty nodded. “I know there isn’t, we haven’t really discussed it though. I don’t want to shatter this happiness yet.”

Polly passed her a glass, then stepped back to lean against the counter, pulling her own drink to her lips. She was seemingly lost in thought, mulling over her sister’s words, speaking only after a few minutes of silence, “Does he live far away?”

“Uh, yeah. Toledo” she croaked out, balling her hands into fists, trying desperately to resist the urge to dig her fingernails into the soft skin of her palm.

“That’s a long drive” Polly sighed sympathetically, Betty nodded in agreement. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I wish people would stop asking me that” she let out a shaky breath, willing the tears not to fall, “but mostly because the answer is _no_.”

“Oh Betty” Polly sighed, putting her glass on the counter and walking over to her sister. She pulled her up from the chair and hugged her tightly, stroking her hair soothingly. “I’m so sorry… It’s okay” she cooed while Betty cried softly into her shoulder.

“I’m fine, I’m okay” she insisted, pulling away and wiping her sleeves under her eyes quickly. “Sorry” she murmured, embarrassed for getting emotional so easily.

“Betty, it’s alright to be hurt that he’s leaving. I just worry about you, that’s all” Polly continued to rub her arm comfortingly. “You’ve had a rough few years, I just want nothing but happiness for you.”

“I know, but I just don’t want to think about what happens when summer ends just yet, I just want to enjoy our time together. Is that delusional?” she asked her sister with wide watery eyes.

“A little” Polly breathed a small laugh, “but I guess that’s what young love does. I’ve been pretty delusional myself.”

Betty found her mind catching over one word Polly had uttered: _love_. Did she love Jughead? Did she even know what it felt like to be in love? She wondered if it could be possible to fall in love with someone in such a short period of time. The unending stream of questions flooding her brain was making her head spin a little. It opened up a whole new area of doubt she hadn’t explored yet. She was so engrossed in her thoughts, that she hadn’t noticed that Polly had asked her a question.

“Betty?” she called again, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Sorry, what did you say?” Betty murmured apologetically.

“I said why is your phone texting me?” Polly asked, holding up her cell phone, pointing at the screen with a confused expression.

“Oh, uh that’s Jughead” she explained. “He drove here with me, offered to give us some alone time. He left his phone, so I gave him mine.”

“Well he says that he hopes things are going well” Polly smiled warmly, offering her the phone. She observed the way Betty’s face blossomed into a sheepish smile, taking the phone and tapping out a reply quickly. “It seems like he’s good for you” she added, thinking out loud.

“I think he is” Betty mused, her smile still shining brightly and all traces of her earlier tears gone. “He makes me feel like a better version of myself.”

“Well that’s great, because you’re one of the best people I know Betty.”

Later, when Betty wasn’t watching, Polly made sure to pull out her phone and type out a quick text, sending it to Betty’s phone.

 **Polly:** Jughead, please don’t hurt my sister. [12.35]

 **Betty:** I promise, that is the last thing I want to do – J. [12.38]

\--

Jughead was staring at the pages of his book when two dainty hands covered his eyes, making him grin. “Guess who” she whispered sweetly, lips only a few inches from his ear.

“Whoever you are, you should know I have a girlfriend” he teased playfully as she uncovered his eyes, leaning over the back of the bench so he could see her face, smiling widely. She leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on his lips before he watched her skip around the bench and flop down next to him. “Have a good time?” he asked, snaking his arm around her shoulders.

“It was great, we did a lot of catching up” she smiled. “Sorry I kept you waiting so long.”

“That’s okay, I had a few hours to read by the sea. It was pretty nice” he shrugged, gesturing to the view of the beach in front of them. “You sure you don’t want to spend a little longer with her? We’ve got a while before we need to head back”

Betty shook her head, and then rested it on Jughead’s shoulder, letting her gaze fall on the rolling waves of the ocean. “She has a doctors appointment later, and she was pretty tired when I left. She’s having twins, isn’t that amazing?”

“That’s awesome Betts” he agreed, kissing the top of her head. “What do you want to do now?”

“Can we stay here a while?” she raised her head, looking up at him pleadingly, as if she had to persuade him. Betty had no idea that she had him wrapped around her little finger.

“Sure” he nodded, smiling when she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Hey Betts, you missed” he breathed, before taking her face in his hands and pulling their lips together. He could feel her smiling into the kiss, then relaxing and moving her mouth against his softly.

She pulled away and grinned at him. “Cheesy” she giggled.

“Only for you” he replied, flashing her a quick smile. Jughead stood up, stretching his arms above his head, trying to get rid of the stiffness gained from spending two hours on a bench. When his joints felt a little looser, he held out his hand for Betty, pulling her up and lacing their fingers together. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

She followed him as he pulled them off the path, down the steps and sinking into the soft sand. Betty sighed, kicking off her shoes and leaning down to pick them up, gathering them in the hand that wasn’t holding Jughead’s. “We should have actually brought beach stuff” she mused, wishing she could enjoy it more freely.

“I didn’t think we’d be needing it” he shrugged in return. “Plus I don’t have any beach stuff” he pointed out, kicking the sand with his boots.

“Another time maybe? _Unless_ you don’t want to see me in a bikini…” she teased with a smirk, stopping him in his tracks.

“I never said that” he insisted firmly, wrapping his arm around her slender waist and pulling her flush against his body. “As if I wasn’t having a hard enough time controlling my imagination today, what with your legs in that skirt” he whispered, brushing his fingers along the skin of her thigh just below the hem. Betty was suddenly very thankful she had chosen the short denim skirt, enjoying the way Jughead’s fingertips left a burning trail where they danced across the surface of her skin.

“Is that so?” she replied, her voice coming out more breathless than she had intended. She leaned up onto her tiptoes and kissed him eagerly, thankful that it was a quiet beach with barely a soul in sight. His tongue begged permission, sweeping along her lower lip and she allowed it to mingle with her own. Taking advantage of the solitude, and her apparent growth in confidence, Betty placed her hand over where Jughead’s rested on her lower back, pushing it slowly down so it covered the curve of her ass, swallowing his slight groan in her mouth. He pulled away after a moment longer, dropping his head against Betty’s shoulder.

“Yeah, you’ve got to stop doing that unless you want me to embarrass myself in such a public setting” his voice came out slightly strained, muffled by the way his lips were pressed against her skin.

“What do you mean Juggie?” she asked with a small laugh. He didn’t answer, just pushed against her thigh, making Betty very suddenly aware of the growing hardness between his legs. “Oh, I see” she giggled, a blush instantly rising to her cheeks. “Do you want to sit here for a while? Or we can keep walking…”

“Nah, we can sit” Jughead agreed, lifting his head from her shoulder. He lowered himself down into the sand, pulling Betty down with him, settling her between his legs. Betty sighed as his arm looped around her waist, leaning back into his chest, stretching her legs out in front of her. “I’m so glad today went well Betts” he murmured.

“Thank you for coming with me” she closed her eyes, letting her head drop back onto his shoulder, lulled into a state of total relaxation. “It really helped” she assured, covering his hand with hers where it rested on her stomach.

“I didn’t do anything, I just drove you here. The rest was all you” he kissed the side of her head tenderly. “I’m so proud of you, I know you were nervous.”

“It was totally irrational, I can’t believe I was scared, it’s just Polly” she groaned. “Though I am going to struggle keeping this secret from my Mom and Dad.”

“You can’t help what you feel Betty” he breathed softly. “Whether or not your anxiety was rational, you faced it and that’s brilliant.”

“You always know what to say Juggie” she sighed, smiling contentedly when Jughead pressed another kiss to her temple. A peaceful silence settled between them, observing how the waves in front of them glistened beneath the late afternoon sun, enjoying the warmth of the golden sand beneath them. But within the calm and the quiet, Betty couldn’t silence the niggling thoughts that screamed inside her head. She was starting to realise she couldn’t avoid it much longer.

“Hey Juggie, can I ask you a question?” she called, trying to mask the nervousness she felt.

“Pretty sure you just did” he breathed a laugh, prompting Betty to roll her eyes at his sarcastic response. “Yeah, go ahead.”

“What are we going to do?” she asked hoarsely. “Eventually, the days left in summer are going to run out and you won’t be here anymore. I can’t keep pretending that things are going to stay this way forever, I can’t keep lying to myself” she wished she could stop her voice from breaking the way it did, hating how weak she sounded.

Jughead sighed heavily, finally having to face the conversation he’d been dreading since he’d arrived. “Truthfully Betty, I don’t really know. I never anticipated that we’d find ourselves here, I knew it would be hard to leave… but I have no idea how I’m going to tear myself away from you. All I can promise you is that when the summer ends, the way I feel about you won’t change, no amount of distance has ever stopped my heart from belonging to you. I will accept whatever you want to do going forward. If you want to make things work, I will do everything in my power to ensure that we do. If you would prefer that we, uh… that we break up” his voice caught over those words, “well that’s okay too. I just don’t want you to hurt anymore, Betty. I can’t live knowing I hurt you again.”

She hadn’t felt the tear run down her cheek, until the tiny silver droplet fell onto their joined hands. “I don’t want to break up… I definitely don’t want that” she admitted with a shaky breath, squeezing her eyes shut, hoping it would stop more tears from flowing. “As hard as being away from you will be, not having you at all would be worse” she whispered.

He shifted his sitting position so that he could he see her face, gently swiping her tears away with his thumb. “Betty, open your eyes” he whispered, a slight tremor in his voice. “Please, Betts” he pleaded when she hesitated. When they fluttered open, his gaze met the emerald eyes that shared her every secret and he _hated_ how afraid she looked. “Believe me, I wish it could be simpler. But I will do whatever it is you need, okay? Always.”

As Betty stared into the eyes as blue as the ocean before them, eyes that were just as fierce as the roaring waves, eyes that were so full of promise and devotion, she allowed only one question bubble to the forefront of her mind.

( Is this what it feels like to be in love? )

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was meant to be more in this chapter, but I liked where it ended. I know I do pretty short chapters, but it's one of the ways I manage to update so regularly! 
> 
> Anyway, leave me a comment loves <3


	23. This Isn't About Me, J.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead and Betty travel back to Riverdale. Jughead gets an unexpected call from Sabrina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My hands fucking ache so bad. My laptop has had to be sent away for repair, so I wrote this on my phone. I hate writing anything on my phone but writing is one of the only things getting me through the days right now, so I had to. Plus I've been waiting to write this chapter for a while... 
> 
> Also because I'm tired of being on my phone, it's not really edited yet, so please forgive any mistakes (I'll fix them when I get my laptop back). 
> 
> Enjoy!

Betty seemed to be plunged into deep thought, wordlessly staring out of the window at the passing scenery. So far, their journey back towards Riverdale had been filled with silence, the only sounds inside car came from the quiet mumble of the radio. Jughead was torn: on the one hand he wanted to allow her to take the time to think about what they had discussed at the beach, but he also didn't want her to overthink, to bottle up her feelings. Without talking to her, he didn't know which direction her thoughts were headed in. Instead, he just tightened his hold on the steering wheel, keeping his gaze fixed on the winding road ahead of them.  
"Are you okay Juggie?" her voice called meekly, noticing his jaw was set in a hard line, a battle brewing behind his eyes.

  
He glanced towards her, and he seemed to relax a little, releasing a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I'm okay" he assured, running a hand through his hair that was beanie-less in a rare instance. Betty would be lying if she said she hadn't been admiring the way the raven curls dangled over his forehead, free from their usual cage. "I'm just a little worried about you Betts" he admitted sheepishly, with a small sad smile.

  
"Ah right" she nodded in realisation. His concerns weren't exactly unreasonable, her train of thought hadn't been entirely positive, but it still made her heart twinge sadly. In the past few years, it had gradually become more difficult for Betty's mind to separate other people's worry from pity. It all blended into an uncomfortable stirring feeling in the pit of her stomach, she didn't want any pity from anyone. "Well I'm fine" she huffed, turning her head back to the window with a furrowed brow, really trying not to sound annoyed but she suspected she wasn't successful.

  
He glanced away from the road for a second, slipping to her with a frown, wondering what he'd done to make her upset. "Betty?" he called softly.

  
"I said I'm fine, Jughead!" she snapped her head back to him, a fierce green fire burning in her eyes. He decided that it was best not to retaliate, nothing good would come of him getting angry too. Instead, he silently allowed his own thoughts to consume him. He was remembering a conversation where Betty had admitted to him that depression could hit her in various different ways, it was never black and white. She said one of the ways it affected her could be anger, that she would get furious about anything and everything. That recollection was making him wonder whether he should be even more concerned about Betty, but mostly he hoped that he was overreacting to a fairly minor outburst.

  
After a while, Jughead heard Betty sigh heavily. He glanced sideways to see her head placed in her hands. "I'm sorry" she murmured, her voice slightly muffled. Lifting her head, she spoke louder, a little more firmly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't snap at you for being worried."

  
Not knowing what to say, Jughead held a hand out across the console. It took her a few seconds to respond, he was just about to retract it when she slipped her fingers between his delicately. She raised their intertwined fingers and gently kissed the back of his hand, stroking her thumb lightly over where her lips touched. Her affection brought a smile to Jughead's face, he squeezed her hand tightly in return.

  
"Tell me what you need" he pleaded in a hushed tone. The subtle difference in his words compared to the 'how can I help' or 'what can I do' she'd heard a thousand times over made Betty's heart swell.

  
"Just you" she whispered, allowing the smallest of smiles to cross her face, continuing to sweep her thumb against the soft skin of Jughead's hand as she lowered it to the console between them. After a few minutes of quiet, Betty turned the radio up in an attempt to drown out her thoughts. While she inched the volume louder, she cast a glance towards Jughead, who looked surprised but not all too bothered.

  
"Is this okay?" she asked nervously, having to raise her voice a little. "It helps me to stop thinking so much" she explained timidly.

  
"Yeah of course" Jughead nodded firmly. "Trust me, I've done my ears a worse trauma many times by playing my music too loud. In comparison, this is tame" he shrugged casually, giving her some reassurance. Betty smiled, leaning back in her seat and squeezing his hand gratefully. She closed her eyes and let the music banish the demons in her head, all the while being comforted by the feeling of Jughead's hand holding hers.

  
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when his voice pulled her out of sleep-like state. "Hey Betty, can you hear that?" when she opened her eyes, she saw his brown was creased in concentration.

  
"Hear what?"

  
"Do you mind turning the music down for a sec?" he asked hesitantly.

  
"Yeah sure" she nodded, reaching for the dial on the radio right down. When she listened closely, she could hear a faint noise but she wasn't sure where it was coming from. "What is that?" she frowned.

  
"It's my fucking ringtone" Jughead sighed. "I knew I could hear it" he tutted shaking his head.

  
"I thought you left it."

  
"Guess I was wrong" he shrugged. "I think it must have fallen out of my bag in the trunk. I just didn't see it earlier. I can check soon though, we're not far from home." Riverdale sure as hell felt like his home, but he wished he hadn't said it. As he had been reminded today, this arrangement was only temporary, and he had to stop deluding himself.

  
When he pulled the car up to outside Betty and Archie's houses, Jughead made sure to exit the car quickly, jogging around it to the passenger side and opening Betty's door for her. He was delighted to see the smile on her face when she stepped out of the vehicle, looking up at him with adoring eyes. The way Betty looked at Jughead like he was her hero made his heart hurt, because it felt like it was a set of shoes he could never fill, but he would be damned if he wasn't going to try. He slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her to him and enveloping her in a tight hug.

  
She was slightly shocked by the sudden embrace, but nonetheless she responded quickly, weaving her own arms around his torso and smiling as he buried his head in her shoulder. Somehow, her fingers found their way to his hair, gently massaging his head and enjoying the feeling of her hand running through the locks freely. With his arms wrapped around her, Betty felt safe.

  
"Being with you makes me feel stronger" she whispered in his ear. "Whatever challenges we have to face, I'm ready as long as you're fighting them with me."  
He pulled his head up from her shoulder with an intense look in his eye, an emotion she couldn't quite place. She thought he was going to say something, but he just swallowed and dipped his head to kiss her softly. She moved her hands from his hair to cradle his cheeks, so she could hold him to her for just a few moments longer. When he pulled back, Betty was pleased to be met with his blissful smile, which she was sure was mirrored on her own face.

  
"Thank you for coming with me today" she released his face from her hold, walking towards the trunk so she could grab her bag.

  
"Was my pleasure" he replied with a grin, following her around the car. When they opened the trunk, her eyes fell on her own bag next to Jughead's, grabbing them both.

  
"So where's your phone?" she questioned with a frown, not seeing the device anywhere.

  
Jughead scratched his head in confusion as he was certain he had heard it, "Uh, I'm not sure." He leaned into the small space and it took him a few minutes of patting around but he retreated with the phone in his hand, having found it tucked under part of the lining at the side. He stood up straight, pressing the unlock button but the display didn't show. "Shit, it must be dead" he shrugged, reaching up and shutting the trunk.

  
"Go ahead and charge it for a while" Betty gestured to the Andrew's house. "And spend some time with Archie, he might not be talking to me but I'm still worried about him" she said with a tight lipped smile.

  
"Are you sure?" he hesitated, unsure whether he should stay with her a while longer.

  
"Yeah, I think I need a little time to myself for a few hours" Betty nodded assuringly. She took a step towards him, taking his hand in hers and looking up at him with the beautiful green eyes that made him fall a little harder every time he looked into him. "But, I hope to see you later?" she asked questioningly. "Will you come over later?" she asked in a hushed tone.

  
"Of course I will Betts" he wrapped his free arm around her and pulled her in for another hug, loving how she rested her head on his chest and curled her arm around him, whilst still tightly holding his other hand. "Have they still not noticed?" Jughead chuckled, amused.

  
"If they have, they haven't said anything" she breathed a laugh, "which is, for my mother, very out of character so I'm assuming no."

  
"Fred appears to be none-the-wiser either, which amazes me because I use the front door when I come in" he laughed, the only person who'd caught him sneaking after midnight was Archie who, other than a few lewd inquiries, hadn't said much about the matter.

  
"According to Arch, Mr Andrews sleeps like a log" Betty chuckled, well aware of the many times her red-headed friend had managed to sneak out and meet Veronica in the middle of the night.

Reluctantly, she pulled away from Jughead's embrace, leaning up onto her tiptoes and pressing her lips to his cheek. "I'll see you in a few hours" she smiled, about to turn away and retreat to her house but Jughead didn't let his fingers untangle from hers. Instead, he tugged and pulled her back to him with a sweet smile on his face when she fell flush against him.

  
"You gotta work on your aim Betts" he breathed quietly, dropping his head and capturing her lips in a kiss.

  
\--

  
Jughead climbed the stairs of the Andrew's house, noting how eerily silent it was. "Arch? Fred?" he called out. After getting no reply, he shrugged figuring the two of them must have stayed late at work or something and headed towards his room. He flopped onto the bed, suddenly realising how tired the 4 hours of driving and walking around had made him, and reached for his phone charger. He plugged the device in, before tossing it to the side, closing his eyes for a few minutes while it powered up. Jughead's eyes widened as the phone buzzed with several notifications, guessing it must have been dead for a while, the most recent of which answered his questions about where the rest of the household were.

  
Archie: Dad's taking me to Pop's for dinner, says we need some one on one time [6.35]

  
Archie: I don't even know if you're back yet, but there should be food in the fridge [6.36]

  
Archie: Tell Betty I said hi [6.37]

  
Jughead smiled, tapping out a quick reply to his friend, assuring him that he'd survive feeding himself for the night. His brow creased when he scrolled down the list of notifications.

  
Missed call from Sabrina (13)

  
New voice message from Sabrina [5.45]

  
Sabrina: J! SERIOUSLY CALL ME BACK!!!! [5.12]

  
Sabrina: J what the fuck?! Why aren't you answering?!!! [4.37]

  
Sabrina: It's fucking urgent [3.54]

New voice message from Sabrina [2.04] 

  
Sabrina: I know you're probably having a great time but I need you to call [1.28]

  
Sabrina: J, call me. [12.30]

  
Sabrina: When you see this, you have to call me. It's important. [11.16]

  
By the time he had finished scrolling through the texts, he felt a little like he was going to throw up. He was wildly concerned about Sabrina, he was assuming the worst, his mind jumping to horrible conclusions. Sitting bolt upright in bed, he slammed his thumb down on the 'call' button beneath her name, feeling his heart quicken with every ring of the phone.

  
"Fucking finally J, I've been calling all damn day" she yelled through the phone.

  
"Sabrina! Are you okay?" he shouted frantically, anxious to know what was wrong.

  
"Yeah, I'm fine" her tone seemed sad, but he couldn't help but breathe the sigh of relief that he released, letting his head fall into his hand. "This isn't about me J."

  
"What do you mean?" his brow furrowed deeply at her vagueness.

  
"Something happened, but it didn't happen to me" she mumbled, the pit of fear in his stomach started churning again. "It's about you."

  
He didn't say anything, partly out of shock, but mostly because he was waiting for her to explain.

  
After a few moments, she seemed to realise this was his intention. "I uh... I, I went by your house" she stuttered nervously through the phone, just adding to his anxiousness. Sabrina never got nervous and she definitely did not fucking stutter. That's what led him to the conclusion that whatever had happened, it was bad. "I spent a couple of hours sorting through some of my old clothes, since you said you were worried JB didn't have enough... mostly crap but I figured it was better than nothing, that girl's been dressing in clothes that don't fit her for too fucking long..." she rambled, losing her train of thought slightly.

  
"Brina, what the fuck is going on?" he yelled, growing impatient, his voice coming out slightly shaky.

  
"I went to go to drop them off, plus I wanted to say hi to JB. I didn't call first or anything, I figured it would be fine if I just swung by like usual" her voice definitely had a small tremor to it, if a little masked through the phone. "It took a few minutes for anyone to answer... I almost turned around and left but then your dad opened the door."

  
"He was drunk?" Jughead asked, his eyes slipping closed, suspecting he already knew the answer.

  
"Worse than I've ever seen him" she admitted with a sigh. "Honestly, he scared me a little. When I asked where JB was, he just went inside and started smashing shit up. I thought she might be hiding upstairs, probably terrified, so I went up. And..." the undeniable sound of Sabrina's voice catching filtered through the phone.

  
"And what? Sabrina?!" he shouted, standing and running his hand through his hair shakily.

  
"JB wasn't there. Nothing was there, all her stuff was packed" Jughead had never seen Sabrina cry before, but her sobs could be heard clearly while she explained." I checked your parent's room, all your mom's stuff was gone too. There was a note on the bed, already opened and I figured I had the damn right to fucking read it" she cursed bitterly. "Jughead" she whimpered, using his full name in a rare instance, "I'm so sorry, your mom left. She left town, and she took JB with her."

  
When he heard those words, Jughead could practically feel his heart tear in two. He hated himself for all those timed he'd wished his parents would just end  it because it had come true in the worst, most twisted way possible. Whether or not she was perfect, Jughead loved his mom so much. It shocked him a little that she would leave without saying anything. He'd been doing his best to call a couple of times a week and check in, making sure to tell her that he missed her, that he loved her and she hadn't said a thing that led him to believe that she felt otherwise.

  
"The note" he choked out, his mouth feeling painfully dry, "did the note say anything about me?"

  
"Yeah" Sabrina sniffled, "it said to tell you she's sorry, and that you boys need to look after each other."

  
( She left me behind. )

  
The realisation was hitting him in waves, unable to absorb the full shock at once. She took his little sister, one of the only shining lights in three years of darkness. Watching her grow up was one of the great joys of his life, and it was stolen from him. All he had ever done was make sure Jellybean new she was loved, no matter how much yelling filtered through the walls, no matter how much she was frightened. Jughead wondered what he had done to deserve this cruel twist of fate.

  
"J, I know this is a fucking smack in the face. I get that you need time to process the news..." Sabrina's voice pulled him from his sorrowful thoughts. "But I'm worried about your dad, I think he's gonna get himself or someone else hurt."

  
Jughead hadn't even been aware of the tears falling down his face, until he felt one drop into the skin of his hand. He hastily reached up and wiped his face, taking a hard sniffle in.

  
"I had to take his keys from him earlier, he was going to get in the truck and drive" she admitted. "His 5'11 versus my 5'0 wasn't easy, believe me."

  
"Shit, did he hurt you?" Jughead groaned.

  
"No don't worry, I had the advantage of being sober at eleven in the morning. Can't say that lasted all day though" she sighed shakily. "I've still got his keys, I know that might be crossing a line but I won't be responsible for him driving drunk and fucking hurting someone."

  
"No that's okay, it's a good call" he wiped his hand over his face again. "You're at home now, right?"

  
"Yeah I left hours ago, I couldn't stay" she muttered. "I was afraid. J, he _scared_ me. That's why I'm so worried, if he can scare me, who's seen him in this kind of state before, I worry how bad things are gonna get. And I think..."

  
"Sabrina, I know what you're gonna say so just fucking get it over with."

  
"I think you need to come back" she whispered and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, begging more tears not to fall. "I think you need to come back _now_. Because I don't know how to deal with it..."

  
Despite knowing the words were coming, despite sensing their anticipation for the length of the phone call, Jughead's heart apparently struggled to hear the words aloud. It was the final straw that shattered his heart, the shards splintering into his lungs, making it hard to breath, and showering into his stomach, making him to want to throw up.

_You need to come back._

  
"Sabrina, I gotta go" he croaked out. "Keep his keys. Fucking throw them away if you have to. I'll call you tomorrow" he abruptly hung up the phone, forcefully throwing it down onto the bed. He knew he had no right to be angry at her, 'don't shoot the messenger' after all, but he couldn't help it. His blood was boiling and he didn't know who he should be angriest with.

  
" _Fuck_ " he cursed under his breath, running both hands through his hair. "FUCK" he yelled louder this time, kicking the desk in the corner, hoping it would let off some steam. When it didn't, he gave up and sank into the floor, leaning against the side of the desk, gently hitting his head a few times in frustration, his eyes scrunched tightly closed. He couldn't hold back anymore, leaning forward so his arms rested on his bent knees and letting out a hot sob. He cried for all that he was losing: his mom, his sister, apparently any last shred of hope he had for his dad. And he cried for Betty.

  
He cried for the girl that he was undeniably and hopelessly in love with, the girl who's heart he was going to have to break.

  
Because he had to leave, their time had run out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THERE'S HELLA ANGST COMING GUYS!!!!!!
> 
> Hope y'all don't hate me too much, please leave a scream in the comments <3


	24. I Need You Betty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead tells Betty his shaking news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved all the comments on the last chapter, sorry for hitting you all with the angst!!! This chapter is also hella angsty sorry! Also the POV jumps wildly in this chapter for some reason, sorry!
> 
> tip: if you really want the emotions to hit you full force, I recommend listening to the saddest playlist you can find whilst reading. I did while writing/proof reading and I'm pretty emotional. 
> 
> (Also it's barely edited because I'm still on my phone, so please excuse the mistakes, I'll fix them later!)

Betty figured that Archie either hadn't come home yet, or he hadn't been in his room because it was starting to grow dark outside and his light had yet to flick on, and there had been no flashes of red hair. If it was the former, she wondered what was keeping Jughead from coming over already. It seemed ridiculous to her that only a few hours as passed since she saw him, because she missed him already, his company was a constant craving of hers. Plus, she was feeling a little bad for how her mood had gradually lowered following their conversation, letting her dark thoughts get the better of her and she wanted to apologise.

A little impatient, Betty picked up her phone, unlocking it quickly. When it opened, she paused for a moment, letting her eyes drag over the picture she hadn't closed of the two of them that she'd taken at the beach. It had taken a few attempts, but eventually she had persuaded Jughead to smile properly for the photo, and the result was dazzling, his grin shining brightly next to her own. She brushed her thumb over his face on the screen, wondering how she fell so hard, so quickly. Then she shook herself out of her thoughts and pulled up Jughead's contact information. She briefly debated just sending him a text, but then settled on pressing the call button, as she was feeling anxious to see him and figured a call was more direct. However, the seconds passed and the phone continued to ring infinitely, with no answer. After a minute or so, she pressed the end call button on the phone with a frown, wondering why he hadn't picked up. Trying not to dwell on it too much, she placed the phone down on the bedcover in front of her, electing to leave it be.

( Don't overthink Betty. ) she told herself. ( Don't make things more complicated. ) But unfortunately, darkness isn't kind, and it somehow always got the better of her. Without conscious effort, Betty's mind drifted to the 'he doesn't really like me's and the 'I've scared him off's she'd been just about strong enough to hold back so far. The only way she could see of getting rid of her obsessions was to hear the contradiction from Jughead, so she picked up the phone again, if with a slightly shakier hand.

This time, he picked up after only a few rings, but it wasn't a warm greeting. "What?!" he growled through the phone, his frustration evident.

"Juggie?" she whispered timidly, shocked by his hostility.

"Shit Betty..." he sighed. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were Sabrina again..." he muttered, with something off about his voice that Betty couldn't quite place.

"What did Sabrina do?" she asked, genuinely curious how one of his closest friends had warranted such an aggressive greeting.

"Uh... it's a long story."

"Okay... are you coming over?" she questioned meekly, peering out of the window. The summer sky outside was painted black now, and she was pathetically desperate to see him again.

"Shit, what time is it?" he cursed and she could hear him fumble to check. "Sorry Betty, I lost track of time. I'll be right ov..." he stopped himself mid sentence. "Actually, can you come here? I need to talk to you about something" he muttered nervously.

"Fred and Archie aren't home?" she asked, trying to convince herself that there was nothing to be nervous about, but there was a pounding in her chest. The fact that Jughead sounded nervous wasn't instilling any confidence in her.

"Uh yeah, they're having a guys night... last I heard they're at a movie" he muttered. "Will you come soon?"

"Yeah give me five minutes" she breathed, raising herself from the bed and searching for a pair of sneakers to pull on.

"Okay, meet me in the garage" he instructed, before swiftly hanging up the phone. She stared at the screen in confusion, wondering why he wanted to meet in the garage of all places. She guessed it might be in case Fred and Archie came home, but it still seemed like an odd choice.

Nonetheless, she pulled on her shoes and started to wonder how the hell she was going to get through the window and down the ladder without falling on her ass.

\--

Jughead paced the length of the garage anxiously, raking his hand through his hair again. He'd been repeating that nervous tick so often in the last few hours, he was mildly concerned he was going to start pulling out handfuls of hair. When the quiet knock came on the garage door, his stomach lurched, and without thinking, he ran his hair through his locks again. Jughead figured that the damn hat he had never stopped wearing actually had a purpose after all. He swallowed hard, before opening the garage door.

The sound of her cheerful voice almost made him forget how shit he felt, chirping "I have a new found respect for you Juggie, that ladder isn't easy." Her laughter filled the space immediately, echoing through the garage. There was a reason he'd chosen this room over the hushed atmosphere they always had to keep in Betty's bedroom, and that was the soundproofing Fred had installed when Archie became interested in music. He didn't know when the Andrews were getting home and he honestly wasn't sure how quietly Betty would take the news.

For just a moment longer, Jughead wanted to live in blissful happiness. He wanted to turn the clock back by just a few hours, before everything in his world had turned to shit. That's why he impulsively pulled Betty into the garage and crashed his lips to hers in a bruising kiss. She seemed a little startled at first, but responded eagerly, grasping the collar of his shirt tightly in her hands and meeting his tongue with her own. When his hand found its way to rest on her ass, she moaned softly into his mouth.

As much as she was enjoying the spontaneous (and heated) make out session, Betty could tell something was off with Jughead so she regretfully pulled back. Resting her forehead against his, she tried to steady her breathing before she opened her eyes and looked up to see his face. It barely took a second to notice how his eyes were red rimmed and how the skin beneath his eyes had grown darker since she saw him, he looked exhausted. "Juggie?" she whispered questioningly, her brow quickly furrowing in concern. "What's wrong?" she cooed, moving her hand so it rested on his cheek, thumb stroking his cheekbone lightly. He just placed his hand over hers wordlessly, leaning into her touch and closing his eyes. "Jughead?" she murmured, growing more and more scared by his ongoing silence, noticing he'd yet to breathe a word since she had arrived. "Did you have a fight with Sabrina?" he shook his head lightly, being careful to hold her hand in place. "Then what is it? Please talk to me Juggie" she begged, not knowing what else to do.

He didn't know how to do it. With all his will, Jughead didn't know how to begin, how to explain. Every time he tried, they caught on the thick lump is his throat. "Betty something pretty bad happened" he finally choked out, his voice sounded rough and hoarse and he cursed himself for it. Jughead knew he needed to be strong, he needed to be able to catch her. But opening his eyes to see Betty, staring at up him with wide, worried, glassy green eyes, he'd never felt weaker.

"What happened Jug?" she continued to swipe her thumb gently across his cheek, soothingly.

"My, uh, my mom left" he croaked, his gaze dropping from her, unable to meet her eyes. "She took Jellybean with her. They left town this morning, or last night... I'm not sure."

"Jug I'm so sorry, that's awful" he couldn't bring himself to look at her. He wished that was where it ended, that there was no more bad news. He felt her hand slip down onto his neck. "Will you go and live with her?" she whispered fearfully.

"No. She left me behind, didn't say anything to me." he admitted through gritted teeth, trying not to let his anger surface. "Betts, I'm not done... there's more" he took her hand from his neck and guided them to the small couch, pulling Betty down to sit beside him. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, running a hand over his face.

"What is it?" she breathed, grabbing one of his hands, cradling it in both of hers. She ran her thumb over her skin soothingly, lifting it to her mouth and placing a gentle kiss on his knuckles, holding his gaze with watery eyes. He could see the fear she was trying to hold back, kicking himself because he knew she was trying to be strong for him. "I told you my dad is an alcoholic" he muttered, seeing her nod from the corner of his eye. "Sabrina said he didn't take the news so well" he croaked, "drowned his sorrows at the bottom of not just one bottle but I'm assuming two or three."

She'd never seen him look so vulnerable. His whole life, Jughead had been pretty good at hiding his emotions and even though she'd been lucky enough to be trusted more recently, Betty hadn't seen him this afraid before, this sad. It terrified her. She didn't know what to say, so just continued to caress his hand in her lap, partly for his comfort but admittedly for her own too.

"He can pretty scary when he's drunk" Jughead continued hoarsely. "He's never... he's never hurt me" he choked out, "but he's come pretty close once or twice." Betty's stomach sank for him, horrified that he would have to deal with that, seeing how deeply it pained him to admit. But there was a nagging feeling telling her that the bomb had yet to drop.

"Sabrina had to take away his keys to stop him from driving" he wore on. "He can pretty dangerous when he's drinking Betty. With Mom gone, there's no one to stop him. Sabrina can't deal with it, it's not her responsibility..." his voice sounded strangled. "I have to go back Betty. I have to leave."

Betty stilled in shock, feeling like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her. "What?" she breathed, her voice trembling. She desperately hoped that it was a cruel trick her mind was playing on her, or that maybe she'd misheard him.

"I need to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone" she couldn't see his face with the way his dark curls hung over it but she swore she heard him sniffle. "I don't want to go, but I have to" he turned back to her, allowing her to see the tormented waters of his blue eyes. He was waiting for her reaction, waiting for her to breakdown... But it didn't come.

To Betty, there was a feeling worse than pain. In that moment, she wanted desperately to feel the gut wrenching sorrow, she wanted to hurt because it was far far better than the numbness that trickled through her.

"Betty" he gripped her hand. "Please say something" he pleaded, the agony in the voice almost enough to pierce the nothingness, but not quite.

"When?" her voice sounded empty and cold.

"Could be as soon as tomorrow" her eyes snapped up to his in shock. "Sabrina's booking my ticket. She wouldn't make me leave so soon if there wasn't a reason to worry" he answered her silent question. "Please talk to me Betty" he whispered desperately after a few moments of silence, reaching up and tucking away a loose piece of hair that had fallen from her bun, and gently caressing her cheek.

She didn't have the words, she couldn't place the feelings. No matter how much she wished she could scream and cry, nothing came out. "Have you packed your stuff?" she muttered, her tongue feeling heavy and weighted in her mouth.

"No... but Betty-"

"I'll help you pack" she whispered, cutting him off. Betty rose from the seat, pulling Jughead up with her where their hands were still joined. Once they were stood, she slipped her fingers from his and started walking wordlessly towards the garage door.

The blankness on her face as they walked through the quiet of the Andrews' house never faltered. To say Jughead was concerned would be an understatement. Betty had described to him many times how much emptiness scared her and how sometimes there were so many emotions rattling inside her, that none could surface. He wondered if she was as scared as he was by her apathy... He'd barely been prepared for an outburst, but Jughead had no idea what to do now. As they made their way to his room, he waited for it to hit, but it didn't.

She showed no signs of vulnerability when she pushed open the door to his room. Her face stayed blank when Jughead pulled his dusty backpack from the bottom of the wardrobe. She didn't cry when she perfectly folded his clothes, or when she carefully packed away the books he'd brought. It was a stoic clinical approach that had a startling similarity to Alice Cooper, and he didn't know how to treat it. While all of him wanted to reach out for her and hold her tightly in his arms, he didn't want to force himself on her. So instead he stood beside her and packed away his belongings, drawing the line under his time in Riverdale. He tried not to think about how much it hurt to leave his hometown again. He tried not to wonder how he was going to tell Archie, how he was going to thank him for housing him for so many weeks. He tried not to think about how miserable he was.

The numbness finally started fade when Betty walked over the bedside table, spotting a frame she hadn't seen the last time she'd been in his room a few weeks ago. She picked it up, surprised that her eyes fell on a photo of herself, in a booth at Pop's. It was from when they'd first started dating officially, they'd gone for a milkshake and ended up staying for nearly 4 hours, just talking and enjoying being together. She couldn't remember what Jughead said to make her laugh so much, but Betty's happiness radiated from the photo so warmly, she could practically hear her giggles when she gazed at it. What he does remember how she'd protested as he pointed the phone at her, and how he'd continued snapping photos anyway.

_"Sorry Betts, I just like taking pictures of pretty things."_

Jughead must have noticed how she was frozen in place, smiling down at the photograph, because his hoarse voice pierced through her trance. "So I could fall asleep every night next to your beautiful face" he explained softly. She didn't turn to look at him, just placed the frame back down on the bedside table, letting the first of her tears fall down her face. Betty lowered herself onto the bed, sitting just in time to catch the first sob that breaks free. All of a sudden, everything had come bubbling to the surface and she wasn't sure how to stop.

Jughead was kneeling in front of her quicker than she can blink, taking a hand in his while her other covered her face in attempt to muffle her cries. "Betty" he croaked, looking as if he was trying to hold back his own tears. Without another word, she leaned forward and wrapped her arm around his shoulders pulling her into a tight hug. His arms circled her waist, leaning up on his knees so he could get as close as possible and burying his head in her shoulder. She feels a few of his own muffled sobs mix in with her own.

"Hey Betty" he called, wiping the back of his sleeve against his face and leaning back to look at her. "Look at me Betty" he pleaded seeing how her eyes averted from his gaze, she just nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "Please Betty, look at me" his voice caught. With a heavy, trembling sigh she lifted her head, letting him see her tear-stained cheeks and glazed green eyes. "It's not going to be like before, okay?" he summoned all the strength he could muster to keep his voice steady. He place a hand on each of her cheeks, delicately wiping away the tears as they fell. "It won't be like before, I promise. I won't let this tear us apart."

"We didn't get enough time Jug" Betty whispered shakily. "We were supposed to have more time" her bottom lip trembled, as her gaze fell into her lap.

"I know" he sighed. "I know it's not fair, but we're gonna make this work, okay? We're going to get more time, I promise, okay baby? We have to, because..." his voice caught, stopping the words before they spilt.

( Do it. Tell her. Because I love you. ) something inside him urged.

"Because I..." he whispered. "Because I need you Betty" he breathed, swallowing his words. Jughead knew it wasn't the right time, once he said those words aloud he would never be able to leave, so for now it had to stay his secret. "I need you, okay? I know you need me too... so we've got to stay strong for each other, okay?" he couldn't help the stray tears that slipped from his eyes.

Betty reached up and wiped away the teardrops on his cheeks. It was a horrible sight to see, Jughead crying. If her heart wasn't already breaking, the tiny silver drops falling from his eyes were burning holes in it. She nodded furiously at his requests, hoping she could swallow any further tears. Her attempts proved futile as another soft sob escaped her lips, just when she thought she'd found some composure. "I'm sorry" she whimpered, horrified by the pathetic tone of her voice, "I'm sorry Jug... I thought I would be ready, I thought I would be strong." Jughead pulled her into his chest, the sounds of her cries drowning in the fabric of his shirt. "I know you need to go... I'm just not ready" she choked out between her sobs.

Jughead just stroked her hair, holding her tightly to him, and tried not to fall apart. He couldn't stand it for much longer, so he pulled back so Betty could see his face. "Tell me to stay" he whispered hoarsely.

"What?" Betty gasped, startled by the fierce seriousness in his eyes.

"Tell me to stay Betty, and I won't go" he whispered pleadingly, unable to bear the heartbreak shining in her eyes for much longer, unable to stand the sight of Betty's tear stained cheeks.

"I can't do that Juggie" she replied sorrowfully. "There's nothing I want to do more... but I can't. I think you know that." She let her forehead fall against his, letting her breath mingle with his. When he pressed his mouth to hers tenderly, she could taste the salt of his tears on his lips. She whimpered into the kiss, holding his face so he couldn't pull away, not yet.

He rested his forehead against hers, pulling away to catch his breath. He tugged his sleeve over his hand and swiped under his eyes. "Shit, I was supposed to be comforting you" he breathed a laugh despite himself, happy that Betty laughed quietly too.

"It's okay" she sniffled, tangling her fingers in the back of his hair, nails scratching his scalp lightly. "It's okay to be sad Juggie" she soothed, giving him another short chaste kiss.

"Even so..." he sighed, pushing his hair back from his face, "let me try again?" She nodded, silently urging him to continue. "I'm not letting go of us, I can't. I can promise it won't be easy, but I'm never going to give up. I'm going to get my dad into a rehab clinic whether he likes it or fucking not, this has gone on too long. I'm going to visit as often as I can and I'm going to call you so much you'll be sick of me" he said with a sad smile. "I'm going to do everything I can Betty."

"I know" she whispered. "I just wish we had more time" she admitted with a sigh.

"We'll make more time, okay?" Jughead breathed, kissing her forehead. "It doesn't end here Betts" he assured.

"Can I sleep here tonight?" she whispered abruptly, looking at him with wide nervous eyes.

"What about your parents? They'll notice you're gone..." his mouth a little agape in shock.

"I don't care" she muttered, her thumb stroking his cheek comfortingly. "If this is your last night Riverdale, I want to spend it with you" she breathed, nibbling her lip anxiously. "I don't care how mad they get..."

"Okay" he whispered. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment and let me know what you think!!! Love you all <3


	25. Go To Sleep Betty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead spend his last night in Riverdale together, talking until the early hours of the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUPER short chapter, but I like where it ended and I didn't really wanna add more on! 
> 
> Only a few more chapters left me thinks :( thanks for sticking with me guys. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this bit of fluff <3
> 
> (Also my laptop is being repaired still so it's written on my phone, which I hate editing on... I'm sure you get the gist, I'll fix any errors later!)

“What will you miss the most about being here?” she whispered from where she lay beside him.

Jughead lifted his head from the pillow, looking down at Betty with a pointed look. “Are you seriously asking me that?” he asked softly, with a trace of a sad smile. He hovered over her slightly, tucking a blonde tress behind her ear, admiring how beautiful the loose waves looked splayed out across the pillow.

“Apart from me” she smiled slightly, reaching up and pushing his own curls back where they were falling across his face. “What will you miss the most?” she breathed again.

“How can I pick just one thing?” he muttered, after a moment of thought. “Despite all its faults: the small town politics, the mild elitism, all the people who have shit on me for being myself, despite all the awful memories like the bullying, my parents constantly fighting, even setting the damn school on fire… Riverdale will always be my home” Jughead sighed. “For every bad memory I have here… there’s a good one too. There’s old ones like sitting by the river in the summer with you and Archie, or how everything was okay for a while when Jellybean was born… And now I’m lucky enough to leave with a huge bundle of new good memories here” he smiled a little, already feeling a little nostalgic for the summer he’d spent.

“Like what?” she whispered, her thumb lightly stroking the skin above his cheekbone. “What will you remember?”

“You really want the specifics?” he asked, sighing when she nodded eagerly, not really sure where to start. “This summer… I wrote my first published piece of writing, it was a tedious piece about a closed down café that I’d never even been to, but I wrote it and it was printed. This summer I found out that Pop’s really is the best place for me to go when I’ve got writer’s block. I learned that Pop himself is taken for granted by so many people, he’s got so many stories to tell, that guy… and I learned that his whole face lights up when you ask him how his day’s been before he asks you. This summer I realised that Sweetwater River is even more beautiful than I remembered, and that I will never see a more incredible sunset than the one I witnessed at its riverbank.”

He sighed a shaky breath. Truthfully looking back, Jughead was starting to realise just what an amazing summer he’d had, and now it was starting to feel like he’d taken his time for granted. “This summer…” he continued, voice trembling ever so slightly, “I got to reconnect with someone I genuinely consider to be my brother. On paper, Archie and I appear to be the most incompatible of people, and part of me was worried that our differences combined with the prolonged distance… well I half thought Archie and I wouldn’t really have a friendship anymore. But I showed up on his doorstep and he hugged me without a moment's hesitation. He took me in within five minutes of arriving. He’s made me laugh so much my stomach hurt more times than I can count, he's there to talk and accepts when I don't want to. I’m going to miss Archie a hell of a lot…” he croaked, genuinely mourning that he would no longer be able to walk downstairs in the morning and see Archie sitting at the kitchen island with a boyish grin.

“But, of course…” he looked into Betty’s jade green eyes, filled with a little moisture around the edges, “most of my best memories of this summer are tinted with the technicolour hue that is Betty Cooper… This summer, I got to apologise for leaving, I finally got to explain why. This summer, I finally kissed the girl I’ve had a crush on my entire life and I got to hold her hand for countless hours. This summer, I was lucky enough to know your secrets, to be trusted…” he whispered, lifting her hand to his mouth and pressing a soft kiss to her palm, covering the faint pink crescent shaped scars. “I was lucky enough to be with you Betty… to see your beautiful smile every day and hear your laugh, to kiss your lips and hold your hand. God knows how, but I was luckier than I ever could have dreamed this summer.”

Betty wasn’t sure whether she wanted to smile or burst into tears at his beautiful sentiment, and she certainly couldn’t summon the words to reciprocate it. “Juggie” she whimpered, stroking his face, her eyes filling with tears.

“Hey…” he cooed, swiping his thumb to catch the tear that rolled down her cheek. “I thought we promised we weren’t gonna cry anymore tonight” he breathed a laugh, “and you know if you start crying, I’m going to start crying and we can’t have that again… my already fragile masculinity has taken too many hits.” Betty giggled softly through her tears, nodding in agreement.

They’d been lying in Jughead’s bed for a number of hours now and she had honestly never felt more awake. There was no way she could have slept knowing that he was leaving, it felt like she had to grab every second she could spend with him and savour it because soon he would be gone. That’s why it was gone two in the morning and they hadn’t stopped talking yet, only making sure they lowered their voices to hushed tones when they’d heard Archie and Fred return. Jughead had promised he would talk to the Andrews in the morning, but he just wanted to stay in solitude with Betty for a little while.

\--

She’d been a little nervous about the implication that came with her request to stay the night, and ever the blabber mouth, Betty couldn’t help but bring it up.

“Juggie” she’s whispered nervously, tightly wringing her hands while she sat opposite him on the bed. “I, uh… Just so you know, when I asked to stay the night, I didn’t mean to, uh… I just mean that I’m not sure I’m ready to…”

“Betty…” he placed a hand over hers, silencing her ramblings. “It’s okay… I don’t want to sleep with you” he muttered, “oh wait no… that’s not what I meant. I mean I definitely do want to but not… not until you’re ready.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair, glancing up at her nervously. “Like I said… we’ll get more time... all I want to do tonight is talk” he assured her softly with a shrug, rubbing small circles over the back of her hand.

“But you want to?” she asked with shy glance, letting her insecurities get the better of her.

“What? Have sex with my beautiful girlfriend?” he asked, with a hint of a smirk. "Is that a trick question?"

Betty was starting to realise it was pretty hard to be self-conscious when Jughead Jones looked at her like she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

\--

By the time 4am was rolling around, even Jughead's eyes were starting to droop. Though, a notorious night owl, he was no stranger to this hour of the early morning, it had been a pretty emotionally draining 10 hours or so therefore he figured his fatigue was justified. However, if he was tired then Betty was exhausted. They were sitting against the headboard of his bed, or Jughead was, Betty nestled into his side, leaning against him heavily.

"We can go to sleep Betts, it's okay" he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. No matter how much he had been assuring her, Betty had been determined to stay awake just a little longer but Jughead suspected she was quickly approaching her threshold.

"No I'm good" she slowly lifted her head, blinking exaggeratedly a few times and looking up at him with a smile. "Hey do you remember your treehouse?" she muttered abruptly.

"The old rickety thing in my backyard?" he murmured in confusion, resting his head on top of Betty's.

"Yeah... I always felt really... felt really... safe there" she mumbled sleepily, stifling a yawn.

"Come on Betty, let's lie down..." he encouraged tenderly, gently pulling the covers back and guiding them both underneath. She nodded slowly, tucking herself into his side, wrapping an arm tightly around his torso.

"But... I'm starting to think..." she continued to mutter, despite basically drifting off to sleep, "I think I felt safe because you were there with me... not because of the treehouse..."

"Me too Betts, I’ve always felt safe with you" he smiled, kissing the top of her head again. "Go to sleep Betty, we can talk in the morning" he murmured, feeling himself starting to drift out of consciousness.

“Okay” she sighed reluctantly. "Jughead?" she whispered sleepily.

"Mmmm?"

"I think… I'm falling in love with you..."

Jughead's eyes shot open in shock, head snapping to Betty who had already fallen fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you liked! Leave me a comment to make me smile :) 
> 
> Also, I've posted the first chapter of a new multi-chapter I'm working on! It's called Cat Paws and Love Laws and it would mean the world to me if you checked it out and left me a comment there too!! It's gonna be significantly less angsty than this one, I promise.


	26. Here We Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead leaves. (enough said.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm emotional. Let's see how you guys fair.
> 
> P.s. I restarted this chapter twice, and I don't love this version, but I could not torture myself any longer.

All too soon, the day had drawn to a close. Betty wished she could slow down time, relive a bit of it… just anything to have a little longer with him. But there was only thirty minutes left on their clock, she realised as she pulled into the parking lot outside the bus station.

She slotted the car into an empty parking space, switching off the ignition and leaning back into her seat with a sigh. There was a heavy silence between them, though she wanted to break it, to speak the words catching in her throat, nothing came. After a few minutes, she started to panic, worried that she was wasting the limited time she had left with Jughead, her gaze flitting anxiously to the clock on her dashboard.

“Where did the day go huh?” she breathed a shaky laugh, trying to ease some of the tension.

Jughead managed a small sad smile, glancing at her from the passenger seat. His eyes dropped to her hands, coiled into tight fists and instead of saying anything about it, he reached out and took both of her hands in his own. He turned in his seat so he was facing her and rested their hands on the console, thankful that Betty’s had seemed to relax slightly but he could see how her whole body was filled with tension.

“Well… first we slept in really late, that took a chunk out of the morning.”

_“Jughead, dude, it’s 11:30… Get up you lazy sh-” Archie burst through the door of the guest bedroom, stopping in his tracks when his eyes landed on Betty and Jughead curled up beneath the covers. “Well this is interesting” he smirked, crossing his arms and leaning back against the doorway._

_“Good morning Archie” Betty mumbled, still half asleep, curling her arm around Jughead tighter. “Archie!” her eyes shot open, sitting bolt upright in bed, narrowly avoiding headbutting Jughead who was in the process of sitting too._

_“Hey Arch, can you give us a minute?” Jughead rubbed a hand down his face and blinking slowly, still waking up._

_“Man, you’ve both got your clothes on, how boring” he chuckled teasingly, pushing himself off the doorway and shaking his head. “I’ll leave you lovebirds be…” he said with a laugh, turning and grabbing the handle of the door to pull closed behind him. Before he could leave, he stilled suddenly, his eyes catching on something in the corner of the room._

_“Jughead, why are your bags packed?”_

“Then… we went to Pop’s for burgers” he breathed, looking down at their joined hands, rubbing his thumb lightly over the back of her hands.

_“To Jughead Jones” Archie held out his milkshake up. “It’s been great having you buddy, more than great. You made our summers a hell of a lot better by being here” he grinned genuinely._

_“Here, here” Betty lifted her glass to Archie’s, the smile on her face not quite reaching her eyes. “Thank you for the best summer of my life Juggie” she whispered, not quite loud enough for Archie to hear, weaving their hands together beneath the table._

_For a writer, Jughead found himself at a loss for words a startling amount around Betty. One look at her and his brain short circuited, leaving him stunned silent. So instead of blabbering, making a fool of himself, he kissed her gently and hoped actions could speak louder than words, because he truly had never had a better summer._

_When they were about to leave, Jughead asked Archie and Betty to wait outside for him. Shrugging on his jacket, he strolled over to the counter, happy to be greeted with the same warm smile he’d seen many nights._

_“Thank you sir” Jughead said simply, offering his hand, which Pop shook firmly. “It’s been a pleasure Mr Tate.”_

_“We’re gonna miss having you around here all night kid” he chuckled deeply. “Look after yourself, okay?” he smiled, a hint of sadness evident._

_“Thanks Pop.”_

“Then… we went back to Archie’s. I said goodbye to Fred, I grabbed my stuff…” he frowned, swallowing the lump in his throat.

_“I’ll give you guys a minute” Betty whispered with a small smile, hauling Jughead’s bag onto her shoulder. “I’ll be in the car.”_

_Jughead turned around to see Archie rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, his gaze skitting nervously. It was the first sign of vulnerability he’d shown all day, otherwise the redhead had kept the smile plastered on his face, apparently determined to give Jughead a happy send off._

_“It’s gonna be weird not having you across the hall anymore” Archie chuckled uncomfortably. “I kinda got used to having you around…” he smiled sadly, shoving his hands in his pockets._

_“If that’s your way of saying you going to miss me, it sucked” Jughead teased, with a small smirk._

_“Fine! I’m gonna miss you Jug” he confessed laughing._

_“Yeah, I’ll miss you too” he shook his head, his gaze dropping to his shoes where he shuffled awkwardly._

_“Hey Jug, can you promise me something?” Archie piped up, making him look up. When Jughead nodded, Archie cleared his throat, looking away to avoid his gaze. “Promise me it won’t be another three years before we talk again. I can’t go that long without my brother” he muttered quietly._

_“You have my word” he promised solemnly. “Scouts honour” he said, a slight smirk appearing across his face._

_“You got kicked out of Scouts” Archie grinned. “Okay, bring it in” Archie sighed, holding his arms out. Spotting Jughead’s scowl, he yelled, “Jughead give me a fucking a hug, I’ve earned this!”_

_Rolling his eyes, Jughead stepped into the hug, Archie clapping his back a few times. “Happy now?” Jughead asked with a sigh, stepping back._

_“No” Archie smiled sadly, the meaning of his simple statement not lost on Jughead._

_“Yeah, me neither” he smiled back weakly. “See you Archie” Jughead called, before leaving the house that had practically been his home for the past five or six weeks, trudging out to Betty’s car._

“And here we are…” Jughead sighed, placing a kiss on the back of Betty’s hand.

“Here we are” Betty echoed hoarsely, her eyes glistening over with tears while she stared down at their intertwined fingers. “I don’t even know how to begin to say goodbye to you Juggie” she breathed a quiet laugh to mask the sadness in her voice, though they could both feel it. The air was weighted with it.

“Don’t say goodbye… it’s not goodbye, okay?” he whispered, moving one of his hands to cup her cheek, gently encouraging her to look up at him.

She gave him a tight lipped smile, nodding softly. She leaned further into his hand, placing her own hand over it. “Okay” Betty murmured, those large pools of glittering jade staring into his eyes, so afraid and vulnerable.

“Let’s go” she said softly, not waiting for his response before she turned and pushed open the driver’s door. If she didn’t go now, she was scared she would never be able to.

The one hundred or so paces from the car to the entrance of the bus station might well have been the most difficult trek Jughead had ever taken, his feet feeling heavy and hard to move. The only encouragement was Betty, gently pulling his hand, glancing at him with small smiles. He wondered how he’d ended up being the one leaning on her for support; everyone had anticipated the reverse, he figured that it just proved how greatly the world underestimated Betty Cooper’s strength.

She guided them over to a bench, overlooking all the buses in the lot, pulling him down to sit beside her. For a few minutes, it was fine to sit in silence. He knew what she was thinking, and expected that she knew his feelings too. They’d said what had needed to be said. Or they had for the most part. There was something Jughead had been holding back.

He’d concluded that she didn’t remember, he’d been watching her closely all day and decided there was no way she knew. The words that had been repeating on loop in his head all day had simply been a moment of sleepy deliriousness… it made him wonder whether that made them any less true. It didn’t stop the memory of her whispering those words surfacing every time he looked at her.

( _‘I think I’m falling in love with you’_ )

( _‘I’m falling in love with you’_ )

( _‘in love with you’_ )

“Shit” he cursed roughly under his breath, standing up from the bench and pulling his beanie off his head, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Betty was looking up at him with wide startled eyes, confused by his quiet outburst.

“Juggie? You okay?” she asked softly. At the sound of her voice, Jughead closed his eyes and took a shaky exhale, trying to calm himself down.

Tucking the beanie in his back pocket, he offered her his hand wordlessly. Once she slipped her fingers between his and stood to move beside him, he leaned down and picked up his backpack, slinging it onto his shoulder. “I’m just sad, it’s probably time to go Betts” he murmured softly, with only ten minutes or so before his bus was due to leave.

She nodded softly, starting to walk down the path towards the buses. “I think yours is that one” she mumbled, pointing at one near the front with people already climbing on and settling into seats.

“You on this one kids?” the middle aged driver standing at the head called over to them, jabbing his thumb towards the bus.

“Uh yeah” Jughead replied hesitantly. “Just me.”

“Okay, well pack your bag in here for me” he smiled warmly, gesturing to the luggage area at the side of the vehicle. “You got your ticket son?” he asked and checked the paper that Jughead held out to him.

“Okay, well we’re leaving in five… Feel free to have a few minutes” the driver said, glancing between them at their joined hands and offering them a sad smile.

“Thanks” Jughead muttered, pulling Betty away from the bus a little, retreating in an effort to gain some privacy. While he hadn’t been concentrating, Betty’s eyes had filled with tears and she was biting down hard on her lip to stop them falling. When he noticed, Jughead sighed heavily. “Please don’t cry Betty… it hurts my heart to see you cry” he whispered, gently pulling her into a hug. She just whimpered softly into his chest, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and holding on tightly.

“I would do it all again” her voice was muffled by his shirt. “All the heartbreak and pain I went through… I would do it a thousand times over, Jughead. Every bad day, every dark thought… it all brought me to this summer. It all brought me to you” she sobbed gently. “I would do it again in a heartbeat, because now I know how it feels to be with you… I couldn’t change a thing.” He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms as tightly as he could around her frame, soaking in her words.

( _Fuck it, that’s all the permission I need_. )

He pulled away slightly, only to place his finger and thumb around her chin, lifting her face to him. Without a second’s hesitation, he dipped his lips to hers, kissing her fiercely. He could taste the salt of her tears on her lips.

“I need to say something” he whispered, letting his forehead fall against hers. “I need to say it and I need you to listen, okay?”

“What is it Juggie?” she breathed quietly, not yet opening her eyes, just letting her breath mingle with his.

“Open your eyes” he pleaded. When she did, her gaze was flooded with the fear in Jughead’s bright blue eyes. It seemed like he was afraid of more than just leaving.

“Betty Cooper, I’m in love with you.”

Her breath hitched.

“I knew that it’s only really been a few weeks, but it was a long time coming. I love you Betty. I’ve been falling in love with you since the moment I came back. I wish I could pinpoint the moment I fell but I’m starting to think there wasn’t just one moment because every time I look at you, every time I talk to you, I fall a little harder. Every day I fall a little deeper in love with you, Bet-”

“Kid, I hate to rush you, but we gotta go!” the driver yelled over to him.

“Okay!” he yelled, sighing as he turned back to Betty, who had been stunned silent. “I love you, okay? No distance can change that” he smiled sadly, leaning forward and pressing a short kiss to her lips. He had started to turn and walk away, when Betty finally snapped out of her trance. Barely a second after he had turned, her hand caught his. She pulled him back to her, those fierce blue eyes catching hers.

“Jughead Jones, I love you” she whispered, cupping his face. “I love you too” she breathed, before crashing her lips to his again.

“Don’t watch me drive away” he murmured when he pulled back. “Turn around right now and go back to your car. Do not look back, do not watch, okay? Go.”

She did as he said, reluctantly slipping away from him and turning away. She started walking slowly towards the parking lot, her gaze fixed ahead of her.

She didn’t turn around when she heard the doors of the bus swing shut. She didn’t look back when the engine started. She just carried on walking to her car, just like he said to. Her eyes stayed dry, her expression blank. She just carried on, just like he said. 

Once she reached the car, she pulled open the door and sank into the driver’s seat. Placing both hands on the wheel, she almost thought she would make it through, she almost believed she would be able to cope. But her heart ached for the boy she loved, feeling as if the distance was already between them.

She couldn’t stop his words from echoing through her head, that bittersweet confession of love.

( _I love you Betty._ )

( _Betty Cooper, I’m in love with you._ )

( _Everyday I fall a little deeper in love with you._ )

She wasn’t sure when the first gut wrenching sob ripped through her, she didn’t know how long she cried. It was long enough for the late afternoon to fade into night, long enough for the station to close and the cars clear out of the parking lot. She didn’t hear her phone ring, not the first time nor the times that followed. She just cried, unable to silence herself.

She wasn’t sure what time it was when Archie pulled open the door to her car. He crouched beside the seat and offered her a weak smile, all it took was one look to see he was hurting too. “I gotta stop finding you like this Betty” he mused quietly, feeling like history was repeating itself. He didn’t say anything else, just pulled his friend in for a tight hug.

“He loves me Archie” she sobbed into his shoulder, still reeling in shock.

“I know” Archie mumbled, rubbing her back soothingly. “He always has.”

And he was gone, again.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment (my anxiety-riddled ass needs validation). 
> 
> Love y'all <3


	27. Day 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do they find their way back to each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, this is it. This is the last chapter.

Jughead sighed heavily, dropping his head and knocking on the door with a grimace. When the door swung open, he wasn’t greeted by Sabrina but her mother, though she was basically the spitting image of his petite blonde friend.

“Hi Mrs Spellman” he said with a small smile, wandering through the entrance when she stepped out of his path, beckoning him inside with a warm smile.

“Oh JP, I’ve told you a thousand times, call me Zelda!” her eccentricity radiated in her voice, high pitched and whimsical in tone. “Are you staying for dinner? I’m making an absolutely wonderful lentil soup, I’m sure you’d love it!” she chatted enthusiastically.

“Uh, not this time unfortunately” he mumbled, sure he could think of nothing worse than eating lentil soup. Sabrina’s parents had pretty rigid ideas about toxins and artificial foods, insisting on keeping her to a strict and extremely healthy diet. What they didn’t realise was how Sabrina wolfed down McNuggets and a Big Mac twice a week in an act of rebellion.

“Ah, what a shame! Maybe next time...” she sighed with a bright smile, throwing her arms up playfully. “Well Sabrina’s in her room as usual, tell her dinner will be in hour or so.”

“Will do, thanks Mrs Spellman” he nodded, heading towards the staircase.

“Call me _Zelda_!” she yelled with a laugh from down the hallway, walking back towards the kitchen.

Jughead approached Sabrina’s bedroom door, smiling as always at the ‘ **KEEP OUT IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY** ’ sign plastered across its surface, bright red letters scrawled in her messy handwriting, surrounded by indistinguishable doodles scribbled in black around the edges. He knocked on the door quickly, not wanting to put it off much longer.

“WHO IS IT?” she screeched through the wall at an unnecessary volume. He had always wondered how such a loud voice could be contained in such a small body.

“It’s J” he called, choosing not to raise his voice like Sabrina. Barely a few seconds later, she pulled open the door, barrelling towards him and wrapping her arms around his torso. Her hold on his middle was so tight, it was constricting his breath a little.

“I missed you” she said, mumbling into his shirt and squeezing him even tighter.

“You saw me yesterday. And the day before that. I’ve been back for nearly two weeks, Sabrina” he pointed out, chuckling at the frown on her face when she pulled away.

‘Well you were gone for a hell of a lot longer!” she whined, gesturing for him to step inside her room and shutting the door behind him. Jughead quickly scanned the room, debating which of the cluttered surfaces would be the best place to sit. After a brief assessment, he decided the bed was probably the cleanest, despite the various objects littered over it. Sabrina must have agreed because she skipped over to it, gathering the piles of clothes in her arms and dumping them on the floor beside it.

“You live like an animal” he murmured in disgust, lowering himself to sit on the bed.

“True” she shrugged with a grin, crawling into the centre of the mattress and sitting with her legs crossed. After a few moments, her expression grew a little more serious. “How did it go?”

“Uh… better than expected” Jughead sighed, pulling the beanie off his head and ruffling the back of his hair slightly.

A few days ago, he and Sabrina had sat down together and started brainstorming ways to deal with FP. After much debate, they’d decided on getting rid of every bottle of liquor in the house and keeping Jughead and FP locked in for 24 or so hours, allowing enough time for him to sober up fully. It had been a daunting plan, Jughead was certainly a little afraid, but it was the only way he could see of having a genuine conversation where they could come to some solutions. Thankfully, after a brief period of outrage, FP had conceded and reluctantly sat down to talk. Once they had started, things had rolled pretty smoothly.

“That’s great J!” Sabrina grinned triumphantly, clasping her hands together and holding them under her chin. “I’m glad our scheming paid off.”

“Yeah, uh... ‘Brina I wasn’t totally honest with you about one of the options I offered him” Jughead confessed, running his hand through his hair. When she heard his words, Sabrina stilled, the smile dropping suddenly from her face.

“What was it?” she mumbled, uncharacteristically timid, her eyes scanning his face for clues. She must have seen the guilt in his eyes, caught the air of regret floating around him, because her expression sank. “No…”

“I’m sorry” he sighed, leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees, bringing his hands to his face. “There’s this clinic in Riverdale-”

“Get out” she muttered through gritted teeth, staring at him coldly. “I said get out!” she yelled louder when he didn’t move, pointing at the door for emphasis.

“No” he said sternly, meeting her gaze with matching intensity. “Because I need to say this and you need to hear it.”

“I don’t wanna hear shit from you J!” Sabrina yelled, sliding off the bed and grabbing Jughead under his shoulder and hauling him up with her. “Because you lied! You fucking promised me you wouldn’t leave” she shouted, trying to drag him towards the door, but unfortunately he had the advantage of added height and weight so she wasn’t that successful.

“‘Brina, I’m sorry but that was months ago. So much has changed since then” he tore his arm from her grip. “You need to sit the fuck down and listen to what I have to say.”

“No, fuck off!” Sabrina cried, shoving him in the chest. “Fuck off back to your perfect little girlfriend and your perfect best friend in your fucking perfect little town. You clearly don’t want to be here so just _fuck off_!” she carried on pummeling him in the chest. He let her hit him for a few more seconds, because he really did feel guilty, like he almost deserved it. After a few moments, when her punches grew weaker,  he gently gathered her fists into his hands.

“My father has a _disease_ Sabrina. He needs help” he muttered softly. “I can’t keep watching him kill himself like this… and I can’t let him keep dragging me down with him... There’s details I don’t tell you, you know. The worst parts” he sighed, a little hesitant to share. Dropping Sabrina’s hands, he raked one hand through his curls and took a shaky exhale.

“A few nights ago, he tried to chuck a bottle at my head. It’s not the first time it’s happened, not even the second and if nothing changes, maybe one day he won’t miss anymore.”

“Jesus, J” Sabrina sighed, wrapping an arm around his torso in comfort, despite her anger. He hugged her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly.

“Rehab is expensive ‘Brina… There’s no way we can afford it in any regular facility” he mumbled. “There’s a guy in Riverdale… he runs a low-cost rehab centre on the Southside, says he even knows my dad from back in the day.”

“Isn’t it dangerous though? What about the gang?” she stepped back, icy blue eyes wide and confused.

“The Serpents disbanded about a year back. A lot of them are in prison and most of the rest moved out of town according to the Register’s records” he explained, having spent many hours back at the offices huddled in that room, reading and re-reading about the downfall of Riverdale’s notorious gang. Though he had accounted for some bias on Alice and Hal’s telling, the whole situation didn’t sound at all pretty.

“Between the lower costs and my dad agreeing to sell the house… he can finally get the help he needs” he sighed. “We’ve still got a couple of weeks before the semester starts, I’ve got time to organise a transfer... I have no close relatives, but Fred and Archie are as good as. I spoke to Fred a few days ago, he said he’d be willing to fight for guardianship while Dad’s in rehab, the fact that I stayed with him all summer helps. If that doesn’t work, I turn eighteen in a few months anyway, a few months of foster care wouldn’t be the worst… A good friend of mine even offered me a job in his diner should I want it…” he listed off all the information, all the plans he’d spent the last two weeks researching, trying to find out whether it was feasible. He’d made countless phone calls, scoured the internet, all in the hopes he would arrive at a solution. At the end of it all, he figured it was at least worth a shot. FP had seemed to think so too.

Jughead strolled back over to the bed, falling onto it and placing his head in his hands, waiting for Sabrina’s next outburst. However, she stayed rooted in her spot in the centre of the room, silently looking over Jughead with narrowed eyes, trying to analyse him. “You fell in love with her” she stated quietly after a few minutes, folding her arms across her chest.

“First chance I got” Jughead breathed a quiet laugh despite himself.

“You’re going back for her” there was no questioning or doubt in her tone, because she already knew it was true. One look at his face and she could see.

“Betty hasn’t picked up my calls in 8 days” he confessed, looking up at her with heartbreak in his eyes. “She says she can’t stand to hear my voice because it makes her miss me more when we stop talking, so we text. The distance between us hurts her so much, that she can’t talk to me but it’s making me fall apart not talking to her... But it’s not just a long distance relationship Sabrina, Betty has some pretty serious mental health difficulties. However bad it is for me, her pain is probably ten times worse and believe me, I’ve never been hurt this bad before” he ran a hand over his face. She didn’t have to strain to hear the agony in his voice and it made her wonder how it felt to be _that_ in love with someone.

“You’d really uproot your whole life for her?” she mumbled, flicking a loose hair out of her face.

“Sabrina, with the exception of you… I’ve never really had a life here. Time passing doesn’t make somewhere home” Jughead said with a sad smile. “I just want to go home…” he whispered.

With a defeated sigh, Sabrina relaxed her arms, dropping her head back for a moment before trudging over to the bed and sinking beside Jughead. She didn’t say anything, just leaned her head on his shoulder. He could hear her sniffling faintly behind the mess of platinum blonde hair.

“The fact that you’re not telling me to fuck off has me hopeful that you understand” he mused, slinging his arm around her shoulder.

“I’m not happy” she muttered bitterly, kicking his foot with the toe of her boot. “And I don’t understand, but I don’t think it’s possible to” she continued, “it’s a pretty fucked up situation.”

“Classic Jughead Jones” he chuckled quietly.

“You’re my best friend, did you know that? Life got a lot more fun when you showed up here” Sabrina whispered sincerely, a rare moment of genuine sadness. “It won’t be the same without you J.”

“People have gotta stop telling me that, my ego can’t handle anymore boosts” he breathed a laugh when Sabrina swatted her hand at him, hitting his chest lightly. “I’m gonna miss you too Spellman” he admitted, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. “But we’re still friends wherever I live. We live in a golden age of internet, remember?”

“I get a facetime at least once a week, promise?”

“I promise. And hey, you gotta come to Riverdale at some point! Betty really likes you, much to my distaste… And Pop’s, everyone should have one of Pop’s burgers at some point in their lives” Jughead rambled with a wide grin, Sabrina lifting her head so she could look at him.

“I am _never_ going to a place that calls itself the town with fucking pep” she chuckled. “Plus it’s starting to seem like the people who visit Riverdale, never really feel like leaving” she added with a sad smile.

“Well it wouldn’t be so bad having you around” Jughead grinned boyishly, ruffling her hair.

“J! Don’t fucking do that!” she yelled, grabbing the pillow from the top of her bead and hitting him with it roughly.

“Ow! Right that’s it, you’re gonna fucking pay now Spellman.”

“Bring it on _Forsythe_ ” she grinned wickedly, that classic Sabrina glint of mischief glowing in her eyes.

After an hour of wrestling and their usual playful arguments, all remnants of serious conversation gone, Jughead decided that he would stay for the lentil soup after all.

Although his actual family was proving to be less than satisfactory lately, what with an alcoholic father and recently absent mother, he’d grown to be grateful for the pseudo family that he belonged to in Riverdale: Betty and Archie, even people like Fred, the Coopers and Pop Tate had grown more and more dear to him. But Jughead was starting to realise that he had been neglecting the other crucial member of his family.

( The stupid, rambling emo pixie that forced me to be friends with her. )

 

\--

 

Day 21 was the first day that Jughead didn’t call.

After day 6, Betty had realised how much worse it hurt when she hung up the phone, crying until her head felt sore and her heart had shattered a thousand times over. She knew it would be hard, but she hadn’t anticipated just how much. He obliged to her request to just keep to texting for the now, sending her little updates about his day as and when they happened, forcing Betty to smile every time her phone buzzed, she just couldn’t help it.

 

 **Jughead:** I saw a cute dog today, look! [10.46]

**Jughead sent a photo.**

 

 **Jughead:** I just bought a coffee and was astounded when the guy didn’t ask me how my day was… Tell Pop that his incredible level of customer service has apparently raised the bar, for life. [9.15]

 

 **Jughead:** I have a bruise on my leg from where Sabrina pushed me into a table. [18.22]

 

 **Jughead:** I walked past a flower stall and for a second I thought you were there, seriously considering buying your shampoo so I can smell you from all the way in Toledo. [11.56]

 

 **Jughead:** This cloud is shaped like a horse, thoughts? [14.32]

**Jughead sent a photo.**

 

 **Jughead:** I miss you and I love you. [22.03]

 

It made her even happier to know that he was going the extra mile for her, as he’d confessed previously that he wasn’t a big texter. But all day, for 15 days her phone had chimed every hour or so with something new that made her smile. He still tried to call everyday, he had promised he would until she was ready to pick up. Though she wasn’t ready to hear his voice without falling apart (no matter how illogical it seemed to not talk to him at all), it was comforting when the phone rang everyday because it reassured her that he was trying.

But on day 21, he didn’t call and he’d barely texted. Betty tried not to spiral, but her mind took her to some dark places.

( He doesn’t love me. )

( He doesn’t want to be with me anymore. )

( It was too hard for him. )

She paced around her room, lit only by the moonlight filtering in through the window, wringing her hands together tightly. When her breath started to quicken, quickly growing shallower, she gave up holding off and curled her hands into tight fists, letting her fingernails dig painfully into her palms. It briefly saddened her that the faded scars she’d worked so hard to let heal would be replaced with fresh ones, but it was quickly replaced with the desire to fight of the panic attack, she was dangling over the edge and so close to falling. Reaching for her phone, she clumsily punched in her passcode, the tears clouding her vision, and pulled up Jughead’s contact information. Hesitantly, she pressed her thumb to the ‘call’ button and drew the phone to her ear. With every ring unanswered, her gasps got slightly more desperate, her heart pounded slightly harder.

( I’m having a panic attack. ) she realised when she heard the sound of the voicemail box, dropping the phone onto the carpet. She sank onto the side of her bed, trying desperately to breathe deeper, trying to calm down.

Eventually, her heart rate steadied and her breathing returned to normal but the tears didn’t stop. It felt like a failure, to have new blood staining her palms after so long of keeping them dry, possibly even a personal best. Betty just brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them, her cries echoing the quiet, dim lit room.

When she heard the knock on her window, her heart jumped into her throat and her eyes snapped up.

( Only one person comes in through the window. )

She didn’t move for a second, convinced she may have imagined it, her mind playing cruel tricks. When a second tapping came, she shot off the bed, stumbling towards the window.

Behind the glass pane, was the face she hadn’t seen in 21 agonising days, so long and painful they might as well have been weeks or months. A handsome face with shining blue eyes and a full grin, staring at her through the window. She hastily pushed it open, grabbing his face to make sure he was really there and then kissing him fiercely, not patient enough to wait for him to crawl through the window.

When she pulled away, the beaming smile on his face lingered. “Hey there Juliet” he breathed quietly. “Guess who’s back for good.”

She stepped back, letting him clamber through the window before she pressed her lips to his again, kissing him hungrily. Everything else fell away, the ache of the past few weeks diminishing each time their lips met.

“I love you” she whispered between kisses. “God, I love you so much.”

“You have no idea how much I love you” he breathed, peppering kisses along her jawline and down her neck, loving the breathy sighs that spilled from her lips when his teeth grazed her skin.

Clothes started dropping onto the carpet as they stumbled towards the bed, falling onto it clumsily. They were a stack of tangled limbs and heavy breathing, skin brushing skin and lips falling together, whispered 'I love you's and quiet muffled moans.

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” he pulled back for a moment, his eyes falling on wide green eyes and swollen pink lips.

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life Juggie” she whispered, pulling him back to her and catching his lips with hers again.

Everything else fell away and all that was left was them, discovering each other in the darkness of Betty’s room.

 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm gonna try and keep this brief because ugh I'm annoying but I want to thank every single person who is reading this right now. It means so much to me to see the love on this fic (which I genuinely thought about deleting early on because I thought no one cared). Every hit, kudos, note and comment has genuinely brought me so much happiness and I hope that this story may have brought you a little happiness too. I love y'all. (That ends my cheesiness)
> 
> I've been thinking about an epilogue for this, but I like where it is right now, so I'm not so sure. Probably not. 
> 
> Thank you for reading my loves <3 
> 
> ~ love, Beth xo


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